No extremes in Highland West: its weather tracks the middle of Canadian towns
A typical January night drops to −10.3°C and a July afternoon reaches 26.6°C; 851 mm of rain and snow falls in a year. Temperatures cover 37°C across the year, low to high. Summer afternoons here are warmer than in 70% of Canadian towns. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 156 days a year at 0°C or below.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Kitchener/Waterloo station, 14 km east.
A year in Highland West at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Highland West’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Highland West feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 156 frosts and 122 warm days a year
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 7 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 851 mm of rain and snow a year
July is the wettest month and February the driest. On about 115 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
About 115 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from November to April, most of all in January (about 32 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Kitchener/Waterloo publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Toronto Pearson (Airport), 79 km away.
Heating a home in Highland West
91% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
ECCC sums, over the year, how many degrees each day’s average falls short of 18°C. Over a year, a home here needs less heating than 69% of Canadian towns.
Living with Highland West’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Gardens get from about 8 May to 5 October without frost, around 149 days in all.
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 →Extremes don’t show in averages: floods, wildfire smoke and ice storms are on Highland West’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kitchener/Waterloo
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Kitchener/Waterloo are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 14 km east |
| Station altitude | 322 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Toronto Pearson (Airport), 79 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −34.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Average wind | 13.8 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Elora, 26 km |
How Highland West 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
Places around Highland West whose figures come from another normals location. No closer places have figures: these lie 13–33 km from Highland West.
Highland West 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 | −2.3°C | −10.3°C | −6.3°C | 66 mm | 32 cm |
| February | −1.4°C | −10.3°C | −5.9°C | 46 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 4.1°C | −5.6°C | −0.8°C | 57 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 11.6°C | 0.1°C | 5.9°C | 81 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19.0°C | 6.2°C | 12.6°C | 80 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 24.1°C | 11.5°C | 17.8°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.6°C | 13.7°C | 20.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.5°C | 12.7°C | 19.1°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.6°C | 8.7°C | 15.2°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.1°C | 3.4°C | 8.8°C | 71 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 6.8°C | −1.6°C | 2.6°C | 75 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 0.7°C | −6.3°C | −2.8°C | 55 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 12.5°C | 1.9°C | 7.2°C | 851 mm | 115 cm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.1°C; the steadiest month is June
March has the widest record range, −29.4°C in 2003 to 26.5°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Highland West’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Kitchener/Waterloo, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest 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 Highland West’s climate
How warm does Highland West get in summer?
Expect highs near 26.6°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Highland West get in winter?
Lows sink to −10.3°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Highland West get?
The year adds up to 851 mm. July is the peak month (96 mm) and February the low one (46 mm).
Are these figures for Highland West itself?
Close to it: they are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Kitchener/Waterloo, just outside Highland West’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Highland West →
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).