Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Wet weather: 1,271 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Saint John, more than on 92% of Canadian towns
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −13.2°C. The wettest month is November; the driest is August. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 90% of Canadian towns. The outdoor season runs from June to August, with highs of 20–23°C.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Saint John station, 14 km east.
A year in Saint John at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Saint John’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in New Brunswick beside it.
What a year in Saint John feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 170 frosts and 80 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 13 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,271 mm of rain and snow a year
The wettest of 60 towns of 2,500+ in New Brunswick. On about 120 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 215 cm of snow a year
From November to April snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 60 cm. 51st snowiest of 60 towns of 2,500+ in New Brunswick.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Saint John
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C.
Living with Saint John’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Wait until about 21 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 27 September, about 128 days later.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 37 days a year.
On some 12 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Saint John’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Saint John
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Saint John are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 14 km east |
| Station altitude | 109 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 33.7°C |
| Average wind | 15.3 km/h on average, most often from the north |
| Next-nearest location | Point Lepreau, 40 km |
How Saint John compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in New Brunswick.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Saint John whose figures come from another normals location. Saint John has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 30–50 km out.
Saint John weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.5°C | −13.2°C | −7.9°C | 116 mm | 60 cm |
| February | −1.6°C | −12.6°C | −7.1°C | 92 mm | 46 cm |
| March | 2.6°C | −7.7°C | −2.6°C | 107 mm | 37 cm |
| April | 8.8°C | −1.6°C | 3.7°C | 100 mm | 16 cm |
| May | 15.3°C | 3.5°C | 9.4°C | 94 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 20.0°C | 8.1°C | 14.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.0°C | 11.6°C | 17.3°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.0°C | 11.2°C | 17.1°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.8°C | 7.4°C | 13.1°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.0°C | 2.6°C | 7.9°C | 138 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6.9°C | −2.0°C | 2.4°C | 138 mm | 13 cm |
| December | 1.3°C | −8.3°C | −3.5°C | 128 mm | 42 cm |
| Year | 10.7°C | −0.1°C | 5.3°C | 1,271 mm | 215 cm |
A March here can run from −28.4°C to 25.4°C
Two years in three, January’s average falls within 2.5°C of its normal of −7.9°C; August keeps to within 0.7°C.
Where Saint John’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Saint John: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Saint John’s climate
How warm does Saint John get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 23.0°C.
How cold does Saint John get in winter?
On a normal January night the air drops to −13.2°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Saint John get?
Precipitation totals 1,271 mm a year, with November the wettest month (138 mm) and August the driest (73 mm).
Are these figures for Saint John itself?
Yes, from ECCC’s station within Saint John’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Saint John →
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).