Hardly any Canadian towns see more snow than Port Elgin, with about 385 cm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −9.9°C. January is the wettest month, March the driest. Its yearly rain and snow top those of 80% of Canadian towns. Frost comes on about 148 days a year, so leave time to clear the car.
No ECCC station in Port Elgin has 1991–2020 normals; the page reads Wiarton, 40 km north-east, instead.
A year in Port Elgin at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Port Elgin’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Port Elgin feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 148 days, 20°C on 102
The frost season runs October to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 6 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,074 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Some 147 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 385 cm of snow a year
Expect snow from October to April, with about 111 cm in January, the snowiest month. The snowiest of 854 towns of 2,500+ in Ontario.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Port Elgin
89% 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. That means homes here need less heating than 66% of Canadian towns.
Living with Port Elgin’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
From about 12 May to 10 October the garden is usually clear of frost, some 151 days.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 24 days a year.
About 36 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Port Elgin’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Wiarton
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Wiarton are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 40 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 222 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −34.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.2°C |
| Average wind | 13.1 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Mount Forest, 74 km |
How Port Elgin 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Port Elgin’s own would show the same figures). Port Elgin has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 30–46 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Elgin Wiarton | 24.3°C | −9.9°C | 1,074 mm |
| Kincardine 30 km · Goderich | 24.4°C about the same | −7.8°C 2.1°C milder | 1,074 mm |
| Walkerton 39 km · Mount Forest | 25.1°C 0.8°C warmer | −10.9°C 1.0°C colder | 1,035 mm |
Port Elgin weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.2°C | −9.9°C | −6.1°C | 111 mm | 111 cm |
| February | −1.7°C | −10.2°C | −6.0°C | 77 mm | 74 cm |
| March | 2.7°C | −6.2°C | −1.8°C | 66 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 10.0°C | 0.1°C | 5.0°C | 84 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 16.9°C | 5.5°C | 11.2°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21.8°C | 10.5°C | 16.2°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.3°C | 13.6°C | 18.9°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.6°C | 13.1°C | 18.3°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.1°C | 9.5°C | 14.8°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.2°C | 4.6°C | 8.9°C | 110 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 6.5°C | −0.5°C | 3.0°C | 110 mm | 48 cm |
| December | 1.0°C | −5.3°C | −2.2°C | 104 mm | 92 cm |
| Year | 11.3°C | 2.1°C | 6.7°C | 1,074 mm | 385 cm |
March has run from −30.5°C to 27.2°C in thirty years
Year to year, January varies most (a standard deviation of 3.0°C around −6.1°C) and August least (1.1°C).
Where Port Elgin’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Wiarton, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Port Elgin’s climate
How warm does Port Elgin get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 24.3°C on a typical day.
How cold does Port Elgin get in winter?
Lows sink to −10.2°C on an average February night.
How much rain and snow does Port Elgin get?
Rain and snow add up to about 1,074 mm of water a year; January brings the most (111 mm), March the least (66 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Roughly 112 days a year start with snow cover of 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Port Elgin itself?
They are borrowed from Wiarton, the nearest place to Port Elgin where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Port Elgin →
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).