Photo: Madereugeneandrew · CC BY-SA 4.0More rain and snow fall on Kingston than on 84% of Canadian towns: 1,137 mm a year
Midsummer highs settle at about 26.2°C. Of all months, December brings the most precipitation and July the least. Its January nights stay gentler than in 71% of Canadian towns. The outdoor season runs from June to September, with highs of 21–26°C.
Measured at Greenwood, 8.5 km south-west: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Kingston at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Kingston’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Kingston feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
153 frost days and 115 days above 20°C a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. About 9 days a year top 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 1,137 mm a year
On about 131 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
268 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from November to May, with about 78 cm in January, the snowiest month. 7th snowiest of 90 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Kingston
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. A house here needs less heating than 70% of Canadian towns.
Living with Kingston’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Wait until about 10 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 5 October, about 147 days later.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →On some 19 days a year the wind chill drops past −20; mitts and a scarf earn their place.
Humid summer days, the humidex above 30, number about 41 a year.
Extremes don’t show in averages: floods, wildfire smoke and ice storms are on Kingston’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Greenwood
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Greenwood, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 8.5 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 28 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −35.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.6°C |
| Average wind | 13.6 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Waterville Cambridge, 15 km |
How Kingston compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Kingston’s would only repeat its figures. The one place listed is 8 km from Kingston, the nearest with figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston Greenwood | 26.2°C | −9.8°C | 1,137 mm |
| Berwick 8.0 km · Waterville Cambridge | 25.9°C about the same | −9.1°C 0.7°C milder | 1,216 mm |
Kingston weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.2°C | −9.8°C | −5.0°C | 104 mm | 78 cm |
| February | 0.4°C | −9.6°C | −4.6°C | 87 mm | 60 cm |
| March | 4.3°C | −5.5°C | −0.6°C | 90 mm | 45 cm |
| April | 10.6°C | 0.0°C | 5.3°C | 83 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 17.5°C | 5.2°C | 11.3°C | 78 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 22.5°C | 10.1°C | 16.4°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.2°C | 14.0°C | 20.1°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.7°C | 13.1°C | 19.4°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.3°C | 8.9°C | 15.1°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.6°C | 3.7°C | 9.2°C | 107 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 8.7°C | −0.3°C | 4.2°C | 120 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 3.1°C | −5.5°C | −1.2°C | 125 mm | 56 cm |
| Year | 12.9°C | 2.0°C | 7.5°C | 1,137 mm | 268 cm |
The month with the widest range: February, −35.5°C to 20.0°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; February is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±2.3°C around −4.6°C), August the one that wanders least (±1.0°C).
Where Kingston’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Greenwood, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Kingston’s climate
How warm does Kingston get in summer?
Expect highs near 26.2°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Kingston get in winter?
Midwinter means January, when a typical night reaches −9.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Kingston get?
1,137 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is December (125 mm); the driest, July (75 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Roughly 93 days a year start with snow cover of 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Kingston itself?
Yes. Greenwood, where ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals were measured, lies within Kingston.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Kingston →
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).