Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Dryden has some of the coldest winter nights among Canadian towns
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 24.3°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 47°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 68% of Canadian towns. Homes need heating from October to April, the months averaging under 10°C.
Dryden has no ECCC normals station nearby: the figures come from Sioux Lookout, 76 km north-east, so read them as the wider area’s climate.
A year in Dryden at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Dryden’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Dryden feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 194 days, 20°C on 92
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 56 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 796 mm of rain and snow a year
June is the wettest month and February the driest. About 112 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 213 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 41 cm in November, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Dryden
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than 97% of Canadian towns.
Living with Dryden’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Frost usually lets go around 17 May and returns near 28 September, about 133 days apart.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 82 days a year.
Plan shade and water for about 20 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Dryden’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sioux Lookout
Sioux Lookout is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 76 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 383 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.9°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.8°C |
| Average wind | 11.5 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Kenora, 112 km |
How Dryden 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 Dryden’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 25–120 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Dryden.
Dryden 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 | −12.0°C | −22.3°C | −17.2°C | 36 mm | 37 cm |
| February | −7.8°C | −19.8°C | −13.9°C | 22 mm | 23 cm |
| March | −0.1°C | −12.5°C | −6.3°C | 33 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 8.3°C | −3.8°C | 2.3°C | 43 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 16.3°C | 3.8°C | 10.1°C | 91 mm | 7 cm |
| June | 22.1°C | 10.3°C | 16.2°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.3°C | 13.1°C | 18.8°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.1°C | 12.1°C | 17.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.1°C | 7.2°C | 12.2°C | 96 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 8.1°C | 0.4°C | 4.3°C | 78 mm | 20 cm |
| November | −1.2°C | −8.2°C | −4.7°C | 53 mm | 41 cm |
| December | −8.5°C | −17.0°C | −12.8°C | 37 mm | 38 cm |
| Year | 7.5°C | −3.1°C | 2.2°C | 796 mm | 213 cm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.7°C; the steadiest month is August
March has the widest record range, −35.3°C in 1996 to 23.4°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Dryden’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Sioux Lookout from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- 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, 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 Dryden’s climate
How warm does Dryden get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 24.3°C.
How cold does Dryden get in winter?
A typical January night falls to −22.3°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Dryden get?
Measured as water, a year brings 796 mm: 113 mm in June, the wettest month, and 22 mm in February, the driest.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
About 160 days a year count as snow-covered, with 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Dryden itself?
Not really: Sioux Lookout, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Dryden.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Dryden →
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).