Less snow falls on Balfour than on 81% of Canadian towns: about 115 cm a year
In January the night’s low is typically −9.1°C. Frost is rarer than in 73% of Canadian towns: about 139 nights a year drop below freezing. Precipitation peaks in July and eases off in February. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 114 days a year with 1 mm or more.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Hamilton station, 8.4 km south-west.
A year in Balfour at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Balfour’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Balfour feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
139 frost days and 123 days above 20°C a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 13 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
902 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 115 cm of snow a 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
Snowfall: Toronto Pearson (Airport), 54 km away (Hamilton records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Balfour
92% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
A heating degree day is one degree of shortfall below 18°C for one day, summed over the year. By this count, homes here need less heating than 77% of Canadian towns.
Living with Balfour’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Frost usually lets go around 1 May and returns near 12 October, about 164 days apart.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 20 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
About 59 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
A typical year is calm by definition; Balfour’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Hamilton
Hamilton is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 8.4 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 238 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Toronto Pearson (Airport), 54 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −30.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.4°C |
| Average wind | 16.0 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Burlington Piers, 9.9 km |
How Balfour compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Ontario.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Balfour’s own would show the same figures). Balfour has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 2–28 km out.
Balfour 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 | −1.4°C | −9.1°C | −5.3°C | 73 mm | 32 cm |
| February | −0.9°C | −9.2°C | −5.0°C | 53 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 4.7°C | −4.4°C | 0.2°C | 69 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 11.8°C | 1.3°C | 6.5°C | 81 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 18.9°C | 7.3°C | 13.1°C | 81 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 24.2°C | 12.8°C | 18.5°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.6°C | 15.2°C | 20.9°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.6°C | 14.5°C | 20.1°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.7°C | 10.5°C | 16.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.5°C | 4.8°C | 9.7°C | 84 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 7.7°C | −0.2°C | 3.8°C | 78 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 1.5°C | −5.4°C | −1.9°C | 67 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 12.9°C | 3.2°C | 8.1°C | 902 mm | 115 cm |
Two years in three, January’s average lands within 3.0°C of normal, against the steadier June
March has the widest record range, −24.6°C in 2003 to 26.8°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Balfour’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Hamilton from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- 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 Balfour’s climate
How warm does Balfour get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 26.6°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Balfour get in winter?
At its coldest, in February, the normal low is −9.2°C.
How much rain and snow does Balfour get?
July is the wettest month at 98 mm and February the driest at 53 mm, for 902 mm over the year.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Count on about 82 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.
Are these figures for Balfour itself?
They are the normals for Hamilton, measured just outside Balfour itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Balfour →
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).