Snowy winters: about 278 cm a year in Highlands East, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
July afternoons average 25.3°C. Counting rain and snow together, it is wetter than 81% of Canadian towns. Rain or snow is most frequent in November and least in February. The furnace earns its keep from October to April, the months that average under 10°C.
ECCC publishes no normals for Highlands East itself; the figures are those of Haliburton, 21 km west.
A year in Highlands East at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Highlands East’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Highlands East feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 187 days, 20°C on 111
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. On about 29 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
1,106 mm of precipitation in a typical year
5th wettest of 871 towns of 2,500+ in Ontario. On about 147 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
278 cm of snow in a typical year
The snow season runs October to May; January brings the most, about 67 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Highlands East
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total.
Living with Highlands East’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
On average the last spring frost comes around 31 May and the first autumn frost around 18 September: about 108 frost-free days between.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Highlands East’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Haliburton
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Haliburton, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 21 km west |
| Station altitude | 330 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Bancroft, 31 km |
How Highlands East 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 Highlands East’s own would show the same figures). The nearest place to Highlands East with figures is 25 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands East Haliburton | 25.3°C | −16.0°C | 1,106 mm |
| Faraday 25 km · Bancroft | 25.7°C about the same | −17.1°C 1.1°C colder | 1,106 mm |
Highlands East weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4.2°C | −16.0°C | −10.1°C | 98 mm | 67 cm |
| February | −2.3°C | −15.4°C | −8.9°C | 71 mm | 50 cm |
| March | 3.1°C | −9.9°C | −3.4°C | 76 mm | 36 cm |
| April | 10.3°C | −2.2°C | 4.0°C | 87 mm | 21 cm |
| May | 18.5°C | 4.5°C | 11.5°C | 92 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 23.1°C | 10.0°C | 16.6°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.3°C | 12.2°C | 18.8°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.4°C | 11.5°C | 18.0°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.3°C | 7.7°C | 14.0°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12.7°C | 2.1°C | 7.5°C | 102 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 5.1°C | −3.7°C | 0.7°C | 103 mm | 33 cm |
| December | −1.0°C | −10.4°C | −5.7°C | 95 mm | 65 cm |
| Year | 11.3°C | −0.8°C | 5.2°C | 1,106 mm | 278 cm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 3.4°C; the steadiest, June
Over 1991–2020, March saw both −34.5°C (2003) and 26.5°C (2012), the widest span of any month.
Where Highlands East’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Haliburton, 1991–2020.
- 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, 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 Highlands East’s climate
How warm does Highlands East get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 25.3°C.
How cold does Highlands East get in winter?
Lows sink to −16.0°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Highlands East get?
Precipitation totals 1,106 mm a year, with November the wettest month (103 mm) and February the driest (71 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
In a normal winter there are about 135 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.
Are these figures for Highlands East itself?
No. ECCC measures normals at Haliburton, not in Highlands East; the page uses the nearest it has.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Highlands East →
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).