Photo: Squirrelwhisperer · CC BY-SA 4.0Summer arrives in force in Cardinal, hotter than in 83% of Canadian towns
On a normal January night the air cools to about −14.0°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 41°C. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from October to April, when means dip under 10°C.
Borrowed figures: Cardinal has no normals station, so these come from Kemptville, 25 km north-west.
A year in Cardinal at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cardinal’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Cardinal feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 157 days, 20°C on 121
The frost season runs October to May, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 17 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
925 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in July, the least in February. About 116 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
180 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from October to April, most of all in January (about 50 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Kemptville publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Brockville, 32 km away.
Heating a home in Cardinal
92% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C.
Living with Cardinal’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →About 32 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
On some 53 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
A typical year is calm by definition; Cardinal’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kemptville
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Kemptville are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 25 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 99 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Brockville, 32 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −35.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.7°C |
| Average wind | 8.3 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Brockville, 32 km |
How Cardinal 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Cardinal’s would only repeat its figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Kemptville | 26.8°C | −14.0°C | 925 mm |
| Prescott 14 km · Brockville | 26.1°C 0.7°C cooler | −11.3°C 2.7°C milder | 1,017 mm |
| Morrisburg 18 km · Kemptville | 26.8°C about the same | −14.0°C about the same | 925 mm |
Cardinal 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 | −4.3°C | −14.0°C | −9.1°C | 70 mm | 50 cm |
| February | −2.4°C | −12.9°C | −7.7°C | 52 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 3.4°C | −7.0°C | −1.8°C | 62 mm | 29 cm |
| April | 11.4°C | 0.3°C | 5.9°C | 88 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19.3°C | 6.9°C | 13.1°C | 73 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 24.3°C | 12.3°C | 18.3°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.8°C | 14.8°C | 20.8°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.6°C | 13.7°C | 19.7°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.3°C | 9.4°C | 15.4°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.6°C | 3.6°C | 8.6°C | 92 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6.3°C | −2.3°C | 2.0°C | 79 mm | 11 cm |
| December | −0.9°C | −8.8°C | −4.9°C | 72 mm | 41 cm |
| Year | 12.0°C | 1.3°C | 6.7°C | 925 mm | 180 cm |
January strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 3.0°C; June the least
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than March, between −28.3°C (2003) and 26.3°C (2012).
Where Cardinal’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Kemptville, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- 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, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cardinal’s climate
How warm does Cardinal get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 26.8°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Cardinal get in winter?
In January, the coldest month, the typical low is −14.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Cardinal get?
About 925 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (98 mm) and February the driest (52 mm).
Are these figures for Cardinal itself?
They are the closest available: the normals for Kemptville, since Cardinal has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cardinal →
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).