Photo: Laslovarga · CC BY-SA 3.0Hamilton gets fewer frosts than 92% of Canadian towns
Sunny July days climb to about 25.5°C. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 32°C. The outdoor season runs from June to September, with highs of 21–26°C.
No ECCC station in Hamilton has 1991–2020 normals; the page reads Burlington Piers, 8.6 km north-east, instead.
A year in Hamilton at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Hamilton’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Hamilton feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on about 98 days a year
Frost comes from November to April, most of all in January (about 25 nights).
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Rain and melted snow: about 902 mm a year
July is the wettest month and February the driest. On about 114 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Burlington Piers publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Hamilton, 9.9 km away.
115 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from November to April, most of all in January (about 32 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snowfall: Toronto Pearson (Airport), 53 km away (Burlington Piers records no complete year of it).
Living with Hamilton’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →On some 10 days a year the wind chill drops past −20; mitts and a scarf earn their place.
About 46 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Hamilton’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Burlington Piers
Burlington Piers is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 8.6 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 77 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Hamilton, 9.9 km |
| Snowfall from | Toronto Pearson (Airport), 53 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −25.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.0°C |
| Average wind | 13.3 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Hamilton, 9.9 km |
How Hamilton 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Hamilton’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 24–29 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Hamilton.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Burlington Piers | 25.5°C | −6.3°C | 902 mm |
| Grimsby 24 km · Vineland | 27.1°C 1.6°C warmer | −6.8°C 0.5°C colder | 838 mm |
| Six Nations (Part) 40 26 km · Hamilton | 26.6°C 1.1°C warmer | −9.1°C 2.8°C colder | 902 mm |
Hamilton weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.1°C | −6.3°C | −3.1°C | 73 mm | 32 cm |
| February | 0.7°C | −5.9°C | −2.6°C | 53 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 4.7°C | −1.9°C | 1.4°C | 69 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 10.3°C | 3.3°C | 6.9°C | 81 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 16.7°C | 9.0°C | 12.9°C | 81 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 22.4°C | 15.1°C | 18.8°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.5°C | 18.3°C | 21.9°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.9°C | 18.3°C | 21.6°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.4°C | 14.6°C | 18.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.8°C | 8.3°C | 11.6°C | 84 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 8.4°C | 2.7°C | 5.6°C | 78 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 2.9°C | −2.5°C | 0.2°C | 67 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 12.7°C | 6.1°C | 9.4°C | 902 mm | 115 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 2.7°C; August the least
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than March, between −21.2°C (2003) and 24.4°C (1998).
Where Hamilton’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Burlington Piers: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- 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 Hamilton’s climate
How warm does Hamilton get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 25.5°C on a typical day.
How cold does Hamilton get in winter?
Midwinter means January, when a typical night reaches −6.3°C.
How much rain and snow does Hamilton get?
Measured as water, a year brings 902 mm: 98 mm in July, the wettest month, and 53 mm in February, the driest.
Are these figures for Hamilton itself?
Not exactly. Hamilton lacks a normals station, so Burlington Piers supplies the figures.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Hamilton →
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).