Photo: Karl Brooks Heisey died December 7, 1937 · CC BY-SA 4.0Red Lake sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for winter warmth
Midsummer highs settle at about 24.0°C. Some 48°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 70% of Canadian towns. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 108 days a year with 1 mm or more.
Measured at Red Lake, 6.4 km north: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Red Lake at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Red Lake’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Red Lake feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 203 days, 20°C on 85
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Some 62 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
About 722 mm of rain and snow a year
July brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. 871st wettest of 871 towns of 2,500+ in Ontario.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
230 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from September to May, most of all in November (about 45 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Red Lake
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
A heating degree day is one degree of shortfall below 18°C for one day, summed over the year. A house here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Red Lake’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 28 May until frost returns near 20 September: about 114 days.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Red Lake’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Red Lake
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Red Lake are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 6.4 km north |
| Station altitude | 386 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −45.7°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.7°C |
| Average wind | 11.2 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Kenora, 142 km |
How Red Lake 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
Places around Red Lake whose figures come from another normals location. Red Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 133–154 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake | 24.0°C | −23.5°C | 722 mm |
| Kenora, Unorganized 133 km · Kenora | 24.4°C about the same | −20.1°C 3.4°C milder | 754 mm |
| Lac Seul 28 147 km · Sioux Lookout | 24.3°C about the same | −22.3°C 1.2°C milder | 796 mm |
Red Lake weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −12.7°C | −23.5°C | −18.1°C | 26 mm | 36 cm |
| February | −8.4°C | −21.3°C | −14.9°C | 16 mm | 22 cm |
| March | −0.5°C | −13.4°C | −7.0°C | 29 mm | 28 cm |
| April | 7.9°C | −4.7°C | 1.7°C | 37 mm | 21 cm |
| May | 15.8°C | 3.0°C | 9.4°C | 83 mm | 9 cm |
| June | 21.5°C | 9.3°C | 15.4°C | 98 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 24.0°C | 12.4°C | 18.2°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.7°C | 11.5°C | 17.1°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.5°C | 6.4°C | 11.5°C | 84 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 7.6°C | −0.3°C | 3.7°C | 69 mm | 25 cm |
| November | −1.6°C | −9.0°C | −5.5°C | 44 mm | 45 cm |
| December | −9.9°C | −18.8°C | −14.4°C | 32 mm | 44 cm |
| Year | 6.9°C | −4.0°C | 1.4°C | 722 mm | 230 cm |
Two years in three, December’s average lands within 3.9°C of normal, against the steadier August
March has the widest record range, −39.6°C in 2003 to 23.2°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Red Lake’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Red Lake from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Red Lake’s climate
How warm does Red Lake get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 24.0°C on a typical day.
How cold does Red Lake get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging −23.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Red Lake get?
About 722 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (112 mm) and February the driest (16 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Around 163 days a year see 1 cm of snow or more lying.
Are these figures for Red Lake itself?
They are: the normals station that gives them stands in Red Lake.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Red Lake →
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).