Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0A middle-of-the-road climate: Otonabee-South Monaghan is close to most Canadian towns on every count
A typical year brings 840 mm of rain and melted snow, with July afternoons around 26.6°C and January nights around −12.8°C. In July, afternoons here are warmer than in 70% of Canadian towns. June is the wettest month, February the driest. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 114 times a year.
ECCC publishes no normals for Otonabee-South Monaghan itself; the figures are those of Peterborough, 9.5 km west.
A year in Otonabee-South Monaghan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Otonabee-South Monaghan’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Otonabee-South Monaghan feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 169 days, 20°C on 121
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 15 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
840 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 158 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from October to April, with about 45 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Otonabee-South Monaghan
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.
Living with Otonabee-South Monaghan’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The growing season between frosts lasts about 130 days, roughly 16 May to 24 September.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →About 29 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
Humid heat, a humidex over 30, comes on about 54 days a year.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Otonabee-South Monaghan’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Peterborough
ECCC builds the Peterborough normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 9.5 km west |
| Station altitude | 191 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −37.6°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.2°C |
| Average wind | 10.6 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Cobourg, 31 km |
How Otonabee-South Monaghan 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Otonabee-South Monaghan’s would only repeat its figures. The one place listed is 20 km from Otonabee-South Monaghan, the nearest with figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otonabee-South Monaghan Peterborough | 26.6°C | −12.8°C | 840 mm |
| Hamilton 20 km · Cobourg | 23.6°C 3.0°C cooler | −8.7°C 4.1°C milder | 840 mm |
Otonabee-South Monaghan 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 | −2.6°C | −12.8°C | −7.6°C | 67 mm | 45 cm |
| February | −1.8°C | −12.8°C | −7.3°C | 42 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 4.1°C | −7.1°C | −1.5°C | 54 mm | 28 cm |
| April | 11.6°C | −0.3°C | 5.7°C | 73 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19.3°C | 5.6°C | 12.5°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24.0°C | 10.7°C | 17.4°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.6°C | 12.8°C | 19.7°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.5°C | 11.7°C | 18.6°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.4°C | 7.3°C | 14.4°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.9°C | 2.0°C | 8.0°C | 75 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6.6°C | −2.9°C | 1.9°C | 76 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 0.4°C | −8.3°C | −3.9°C | 64 mm | 33 cm |
| Year | 12.4°C | 0.5°C | 6.5°C | 840 mm | 158 cm |
The month with the widest range: March, −31.4°C to 26.0°C
Two years in three, January’s average falls within 3.3°C of its normal of −7.6°C; June keeps to within 1.1°C.
Where Otonabee-South Monaghan’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Peterborough (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Otonabee-South Monaghan’s climate
How warm does Otonabee-South Monaghan get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 26.6°C.
How cold does Otonabee-South Monaghan get in winter?
Expect nights around −12.8°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Otonabee-South Monaghan get?
A normal year brings 840 mm, snow included as water: June is wettest at 88 mm, February driest at 42 mm.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 99 days a year.
Are these figures for Otonabee-South Monaghan itself?
They come from Peterborough, which ECCC uses as the nearest normals location for Otonabee-South Monaghan.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Otonabee-South Monaghan →
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).