Wet weather: 1,122 mm of rain and snow a year falls on St. Mary's, more than on 83% of Canadian towns
Midsummer highs settle at about 24.5°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 67% of Canadian towns. Some 35°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Garden chairs stay out from June to September, the months with highs of 20–25°C.
No ECCC station in St. Mary's has 1991–2020 normals; the page reads Collegeville, 41 km north, instead.
A year in St. Mary's at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about St. Mary's’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in St. Mary's feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 175 frosts and 90 warm days a year
Frost comes from September to June; in January almost every night freezes. On about 7 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,122 mm of rain and snow a year
October brings the most rain and snow; April, the least. 82nd wettest of 91 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia. Some 133 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 162 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs November to April; February brings the most, about 44 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in St. Mary's
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 St. Mary's’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
From about 10 June to 22 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 104 days.
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 →Thirty-year normals hide the storms and the extremes: the hazards page has St. Mary's’s risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Collegeville
ECCC builds the Collegeville normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 41 km north |
| Station altitude | 76 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | Beaver Island, 48 km |
How St. Mary's 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 Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around St. Mary's whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 45–79 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from St. Mary's.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary's Collegeville | 24.5°C | −10.4°C | 1,122 mm |
| Guysborough 45 km · Hart Island | 20.3°C 4.2°C cooler | −6.2°C 4.2°C milder | 1,122 mm |
| Port Hawkesbury 69 km · Port Hawkesbury | 23.2°C 1.3°C cooler | −9.9°C 0.5°C milder | 1,122 mm |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C 73 km · Caribou Point | 23.1°C 1.4°C cooler | −8.9°C 1.5°C milder | 1,122 mm |
St. Mary's 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 | −1.0°C | −10.4°C | −5.7°C | 81 mm | 35 cm |
| February | −1.0°C | −10.6°C | −5.8°C | 83 mm | 44 cm |
| March | 2.8°C | −6.5°C | −1.9°C | 83 mm | 27 cm |
| April | 8.1°C | −1.4°C | 3.4°C | 60 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 15.1°C | 3.2°C | 9.1°C | 78 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 20.2°C | 8.0°C | 14.1°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.5°C | 12.7°C | 18.6°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.3°C | 12.6°C | 18.5°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.2°C | 8.4°C | 14.3°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.7°C | 3.4°C | 8.6°C | 134 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8.1°C | −0.6°C | 3.8°C | 130 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 2.1°C | −5.7°C | −1.8°C | 105 mm | 38 cm |
| Year | 11.4°C | 1.1°C | 6.3°C | 1,122 mm | 162 cm |
From −27.9°C to 26.5°C: March’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
The month to count on least is January: one year in three its average strays more than 2.3°C from −5.7°C. April moves least, typically by 1.2°C.
Where St. Mary's’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Collegeville: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- 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, 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 St. Mary's’s climate
How warm does St. Mary's get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 24.5°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does St. Mary's get in winter?
In February, the coldest month, the typical low is −10.6°C.
How much rain and snow does St. Mary's get?
The year adds up to 1,122 mm. October is the peak month (134 mm) and April the low one (60 mm).
Are these figures for St. Mary's itself?
No, the station behind them is Collegeville, beyond St. Mary's’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for St. Mary's →
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).