Gilkson gets less snow than 81% of Canadian towns: about 115 cm a year
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 26.6°C. By frosts alone, it ranks gentler than 73% of Canadian towns. A year here swings 36°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from October to April, when means dip under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Hamilton (6.0 km south).
A year in Gilkson at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Gilkson’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Gilkson 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
The frost season runs October to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Heat of 30°C or more comes on about 13 days a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 902 mm of rain and snow a year
The most falls in July, the least in February. On about 114 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 115 cm of snow a year
Expect snow from November to April, with about 32 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Hamilton publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Toronto Pearson (Airport), 56 km away.
Heating a home in Gilkson
92% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. A house here needs less heating than 77% of Canadian towns.
Living with Gilkson’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Plant out after about 1 May; the first frost of autumn usually arrives near 12 October, leaving roughly 164 days without frost.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →About 20 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
On some 59 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Thirty-year normals hide the storms and the extremes: the hazards page has Gilkson’s risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Hamilton
ECCC builds the Hamilton normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 6.0 km south |
| Station altitude | 238 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Toronto Pearson (Airport), 56 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, 13 km |
How Gilkson compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Ontario.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Gilkson whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 5–28 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Gilkson.
Gilkson weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and 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 |
A January here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.0°C; the steadiest month is 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 Gilkson’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Hamilton (the closest location with all twelve months of 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: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC 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 Gilkson’s climate
How warm does Gilkson get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 26.6°C.
How cold does Gilkson get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in February, with lows near −9.2°C.
How much rain and snow does Gilkson get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 902 mm; the range runs from 53 mm in February to 98 mm in July.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 82 days a year.
Are these figures for Gilkson itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Hamilton location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside Gilkson.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Gilkson →
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).