Afternoon heat in Downtown beats that of 95% of Canadian towns
In January the night’s low is typically −8.9°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 36°C. By frosts alone, it ranks gentler than 82% of Canadian towns. The furnace earns its keep from November to April, the months that average under 10°C.
Downtown has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Toronto Pearson (Airport), 11 km east.
A year in Downtown at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Downtown’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Downtown feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 131 frosts and 125 warm days a year
The frost season runs October to April, and January freezes nearly every night. Some 17 days a year climb past 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 807 mm a year
June brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. About 106 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 115 cm in a normal year
From November to April snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 32 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Downtown
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
Behind the figure: the degrees each day’s mean falls under 18°C, summed for the year. Over a year, a home here needs less heating than 83% of Canadian towns.
Living with Downtown’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
On average the last spring frost comes around 27 April and the first autumn frost around 20 October: about 174 frost-free days between.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: May, Jun, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 21 days a year.
Humid heat, a humidex over 30, comes on about 56 days a year.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Downtown’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Toronto Pearson (Airport)
Toronto Pearson (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 11 km east |
| Station altitude | 173 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −31.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.9°C |
| Average wind | 15.7 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Toronto (City), 29 km |
How Downtown 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 Ontario.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Downtown whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 21–27 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Downtown.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Toronto Pearson (Airport) | 27.4°C | −8.9°C | 807 mm |
| Milton 21 km · Burlington Piers | 25.5°C 1.9°C cooler | −6.3°C 2.6°C milder | 807 mm |
| Vaughan 25 km · Toronto Buttonville (Airport) | 27.3°C about the same | −10.1°C 1.2°C colder | 862 mm |
| Erin 27 km · Elora | 25.4°C 2.0°C cooler | −10.7°C 1.8°C colder | 807 mm |
Downtown 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 | −1.2°C | −8.9°C | −5.0°C | 62 mm | 32 cm |
| February | −0.3°C | −8.5°C | −4.4°C | 50 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 5.0°C | −3.8°C | 0.6°C | 51 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 12.0°C | 1.9°C | 7.0°C | 77 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19.2°C | 8.2°C | 13.7°C | 78 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 24.5°C | 13.9°C | 19.2°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27.4°C | 16.6°C | 22.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26.3°C | 15.8°C | 21.1°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22.3°C | 11.6°C | 16.9°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.6°C | 5.3°C | 10.0°C | 67 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 7.9°C | 0.2°C | 4.1°C | 72 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 1.9°C | −5.0°C | −1.6°C | 59 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 13.3°C | 3.9°C | 8.6°C | 807 mm | 115 cm |
January strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 3.0°C; June the least
March has the widest record range, −24.7°C in 2003 to 26.0°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Downtown’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Toronto Pearson (Airport), the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- 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 Downtown’s climate
How warm does Downtown get in summer?
Peak warmth comes in July, at about 27.4°C by mid-afternoon.
How cold does Downtown get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −8.9°C.
How much rain and snow does Downtown get?
807 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is June (81 mm); the driest, February (50 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Around 69 days a year see 1 cm of snow or more lying.
Are these figures for Downtown itself?
They describe Toronto Pearson (Airport), the nearest normals location, rather than Downtown itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Downtown →
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).