Dorchester is wetter than 86% of Canadian towns: 1,161 mm of rain and snow a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −11.7°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 68% of Canadian towns. Seasons differ by 36°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 162 days a year at 0°C or below.
Borrowed figures: Dorchester has no normals station, so these come from Nappan, 26 km south-east.
A year in Dorchester at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Dorchester’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in New Brunswick beside it.
What a year in Dorchester feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 162 frosts and 97 warm days a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 9 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,161 mm of rain and snow a year
October is the wettest month and February the driest. About 132 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 310 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs October to May; January brings the most, about 74 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
ECCC’s Nappan normals leave snowfall out; the figures here come from Moncton, 26 km away.
Heating a home in Dorchester
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up.
Living with Dorchester’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Count on about 128 frost-free days: the last frost averages 27 May, the first 3 October.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 30 days a year here.
Roughly 32 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Dorchester’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Nappan
Nappan is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 26 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 20 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Moncton, 26 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −36.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 32.7°C |
| Average wind | 15.1 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Moncton, 26 km |
How Dorchester compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in New Brunswick.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Dorchester whose figures come from another normals location.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester Nappan | 24.3°C | −11.7°C | 1,161 mm |
| Memramcook 9.4 km · Moncton | 25.1°C 0.8°C warmer | −13.3°C 1.6°C colder | 1,203 mm |
| Sackville 9.8 km · Nappan | 24.3°C about the same | −11.7°C about the same | 1,161 mm |
Dorchester weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.0°C | −11.7°C | −6.9°C | 102 mm | 74 cm |
| February | −1.4°C | −11.2°C | −6.3°C | 80 mm | 65 cm |
| March | 2.6°C | −6.7°C | −2.0°C | 91 mm | 60 cm |
| April | 9.1°C | −0.8°C | 4.1°C | 93 mm | 29 cm |
| May | 15.8°C | 4.4°C | 10.1°C | 84 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 20.7°C | 9.4°C | 15.1°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.3°C | 13.3°C | 18.8°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.1°C | 12.9°C | 18.5°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.0°C | 9.1°C | 14.6°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.7°C | 3.9°C | 8.9°C | 115 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 7.4°C | −0.8°C | 3.3°C | 114 mm | 19 cm |
| December | 1.6°C | −6.6°C | −2.5°C | 114 mm | 59 cm |
| Year | 11.3°C | 1.3°C | 6.3°C | 1,161 mm | 310 cm |
A February here can run from −36.0°C to 16.2°C
January is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 2.3°C of the normal, −6.9°C. August is the steadiest, within 0.9°C.
Where Dorchester’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Nappan, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Dorchester’s climate
How warm does Dorchester get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 24.3°C.
How cold does Dorchester get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −11.7°C.
How much rain and snow does Dorchester get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 1,161 mm a year; October leads with 115 mm and February trails with 80 mm.
Are these figures for Dorchester itself?
Not as such: Nappan is the nearest normals location, and Dorchester has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Dorchester →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).