Summer afternoons in Centretown are warmer than in 78% of Canadian towns
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −14.0°C. It is a wet place: more rain and snow fall here than on 60% of Canadian towns. A year here swings 41°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Windshields need scraping on about 147 mornings a year, the days the air reaches 0°C or below.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Ottawa (City) location, 4.2 km south-west.
A year in Centretown at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Centretown’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Centretown feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 147 days, 20°C on 121
Frost comes from October to April; in January almost every night freezes. 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
938 mm of precipitation in a typical year
June brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. On about 120 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
185 cm of snow in a typical 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 Centretown
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C.
Living with Centretown’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
On average the last spring frost comes around 30 April and the first autumn frost around 6 October: about 158 frost-free days between.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Roughly 39 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
Plan shade and water for about 50 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
A typical year is calm by definition; Centretown’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Ottawa (City)
ECCC builds the Ottawa (City) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 4.2 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 79 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −32.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.3°C |
| Average wind | 11.5 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Ottawa (Airport), 11 km |
How Centretown compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Ontario.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Centretown’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 16–25 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Centretown.
Centretown weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5.2°C | −14.0°C | −9.6°C | 65 mm | 45 cm |
| February | −3.3°C | −12.9°C | −8.1°C | 52 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 2.5°C | −6.9°C | −2.2°C | 62 mm | 31 cm |
| April | 11.2°C | 1.1°C | 6.2°C | 81 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19.4°C | 8.0°C | 13.8°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24.2°C | 13.3°C | 18.8°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.7°C | 15.8°C | 21.3°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.6°C | 14.6°C | 20.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.1°C | 10.1°C | 15.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.3°C | 4.1°C | 8.8°C | 90 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5.8°C | −1.8°C | 2.0°C | 72 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −1.5°C | −8.7°C | −5.1°C | 74 mm | 43 cm |
| Year | 11.7°C | 1.9°C | 6.8°C | 938 mm | 185 cm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 3.1°C; the steadiest, June
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; March’s run from −28.5°C in 2003 to 26.5°C in 2012.
Where Centretown’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Ottawa (City), the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Centretown’s climate
How warm does Centretown get in summer?
Afternoons average 26.7°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Centretown get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −14.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Centretown get?
June is the wettest month at 95 mm and February the driest at 52 mm, for 938 mm over the year.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
On about 115 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Centretown itself?
Nearly: Ottawa (City), the location behind them, sits just beyond Centretown’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Centretown →
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).