Photo: GTD Aquitaine · Public domainThe climate in Peterborough sits close to the middle of Canadian towns
A typical July afternoon reaches 26.6°C, a January night drops to −12.8°C, and 840 mm of rain and snow falls in a year. Precipitation peaks in June and eases off in February. Its July heat outdoes that of 70% of Canadian towns. Comfortable outdoor weather lasts from June to August, with highs of 24–27°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Peterborough (8.3 km south).
A year in Peterborough at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Peterborough’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Peterborough feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 169 days, 20°C on 121
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. 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
840 mm of precipitation in a typical year
On about 114 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 158 cm in a normal year
From October to April snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 45 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Peterborough
91% 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 Peterborough’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Wait until about 16 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 24 September, about 130 days later.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →About 29 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
Humid summer days, the humidex above 30, number about 54 a year.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Peterborough’s hazards page.
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 | 8.3 km south |
| 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, 41 km |
How Peterborough 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 Peterborough’s would only repeat its figures. Peterborough has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 30–40 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peterborough | 26.6°C | −12.8°C | 840 mm |
| Hamilton 30 km · Cobourg | 23.6°C 3.0°C cooler | −8.7°C 4.1°C milder | 840 mm |
| Campbellford 40 km · Trenton | 26.5°C about the same | −11.2°C 1.6°C milder | 941 mm |
Peterborough 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
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 (±3.3°C around −7.6°C), June the one that wanders least (±1.1°C).
Where Peterborough’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Peterborough, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 Peterborough’s climate
How warm does Peterborough get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 26.6°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Peterborough get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −12.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Peterborough get?
About 840 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. June is the wettest month (88 mm) and February the driest (42 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 99 days a year.
Are these figures for Peterborough itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Peterborough location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside Peterborough.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Peterborough →
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).