Iris has warmer summer afternoons than 78% of Canadian towns
Midwinter brings lows of about −14.0°C. It is a wet place: more rain and snow fall here than on 60% of Canadian towns. Seasons differ by 41°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from October to April, when means dip under 10°C.
Read at Ottawa (City), 5.9 km north-east: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Iris at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Iris’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Iris feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 147 frosts and 121 warm days a year
The frost season runs October to April, and January freezes nearly every night. Some 15 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 938 mm a year
June is the wettest month and February the driest. Some 120 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 185 cm of snow a 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 Iris
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up.
Living with Iris’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
A normal year gives the garden about 158 frost-free days, roughly 30 April to 6 October.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 39 days a year.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 50 days a year.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Iris’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Ottawa (City)
Ottawa (City) is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 5.9 km north-east |
| 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), 9.3 km |
How Iris 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Iris’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Iris with figures are 21–23 km away.
Iris 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 month with the widest range: March, −28.5°C to 26.5°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; January is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±3.1°C around −9.6°C), June the one that wanders least (±1.1°C).
Where Iris’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Ottawa (City), 1991–2020.
- 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 (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 Iris’s climate
How warm does Iris get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 26.7°C.
How cold does Iris get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −14.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Iris get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 938 mm; the range runs from 52 mm in February to 95 mm in June.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
The ground is white, with 1 cm or more, on some 115 days a year.
Are these figures for Iris itself?
They are the normals for Ottawa (City), measured just outside Iris itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Iris →
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).