Photo: maar345 · CC BY 2.0Midwinter lows in Renfrew sink below those of 81% of Canadian towns
High summer brings afternoon highs near 26.4°C. Its yearly rain and snow top those of 67% of Canadian towns. Rain or snow is most frequent in June and least in February. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 137 times a year.
These are not Renfrew’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Charteris, 30 km north-east.
A year in Renfrew at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Renfrew’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Renfrew feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 178 frosts and 115 warm days a year
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 31 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
968 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Precipitation and snowfall: Luskville, 50 km away (Charteris records no complete year of either).
About 193 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs October to April; January brings the most, about 53 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Renfrew
91% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. A house here needs more heating than 61% of Canadian towns.
Living with Renfrew’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 23 May until frost returns near 19 September: about 118 days.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jun, Jul and Aug, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Renfrew’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Charteris
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Charteris, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 30 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 168 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Luskville, 50 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Luskville, 50 km |
How Renfrew 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 Renfrew’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 21–46 km from Renfrew.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew Charteris | 26.4°C | −16.9°C | 968 mm |
| Greater Madawaska 21 km · Drummond Centre | 27.1°C 0.7°C warmer | −14.2°C 2.7°C milder | 939 mm |
| Arnprior 26 km · Luskville | 26.9°C 0.5°C warmer | −16.0°C 0.9°C milder | 968 mm |
| Eganville 34 km · Petawawa | 26.3°C about the same | −17.9°C 1.0°C colder | 932 mm |
Renfrew 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 | −6.2°C | −16.9°C | −11.6°C | 77 mm | 53 cm |
| February | −4.2°C | −16.1°C | −10.2°C | 63 mm | 43 cm |
| March | 2.2°C | −9.5°C | −3.7°C | 63 mm | 31 cm |
| April | 10.8°C | −1.2°C | 5.1°C | 74 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 19.3°C | 5.5°C | 12.5°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23.9°C | 10.6°C | 17.4°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.4°C | 13.1°C | 19.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.1°C | 12.2°C | 18.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.4°C | 7.9°C | 14.3°C | 87 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 12.4°C | 2.3°C | 7.5°C | 84 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 4.8°C | −3.8°C | 0.7°C | 74 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −2.6°C | −11.3°C | −7.0°C | 76 mm | 43 cm |
| Year | 11.0°C | −0.6°C | 5.3°C | 968 mm | 193 cm |
January varies most from one year to the next (3.4°C), August least
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; March’s run from −35.0°C in 2007 to 27.5°C in 2012.
Where Renfrew’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Charteris from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- 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 Renfrew’s climate
How warm does Renfrew get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 26.4°C.
How cold does Renfrew get in winter?
A typical January night falls to −16.9°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Renfrew get?
Some 968 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in June (99 mm), the least in February (63 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Snow cover of 1 cm or more lasts about 127 days in a typical year.
Are these figures for Renfrew itself?
Not as such: Charteris is the nearest normals location, and Renfrew has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Renfrew →
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).