Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Summers, winters, rain and snow in St. Joseph all run close to those of most Canadian towns
A typical year brings 915 mm of rain and melted snow, with July afternoons around 24.2°C and January nights around −14.5°C. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 39°C apart. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 69% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 131 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Borrowed figures: St. Joseph has no normals station, so these come from Sault Ste Marie, 43 km north-west.
A year in St. Joseph at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about St. Joseph’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in St. Joseph feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 175 frosts and 96 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 21 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
915 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in October, the least in February.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 325 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from October to April, most of all in January (about 84 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in St. Joseph
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 61% of Canadian towns.
Living with St. Joseph’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
On average the last spring frost comes around 28 May and the first autumn frost around 29 September: about 123 frost-free days between.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Count on some 39 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
Roughly 31 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
A typical year is calm by definition; St. Joseph’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sault Ste Marie
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Sault Ste Marie are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 43 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 192 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −37.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.3°C |
| Average wind | 12.2 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Gore Bay, 123 km |
How St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph’s own would show the same figures). St. Joseph has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 55 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph Sault Ste Marie | 24.2°C | −14.5°C | 915 mm |
| Huron Shores 55 km · Gore Bay | 24.4°C about the same | −13.6°C 0.9°C milder | 915 mm |
St. Joseph 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 | −5.0°C | −14.5°C | −9.8°C | 65 mm | 84 cm |
| February | −4.0°C | −14.7°C | −9.4°C | 46 mm | 59 cm |
| March | 1.4°C | −9.6°C | −4.1°C | 52 mm | 39 cm |
| April | 8.7°C | −2.0°C | 3.4°C | 71 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 16.2°C | 3.5°C | 9.9°C | 69 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21.8°C | 8.5°C | 15.2°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.2°C | 11.6°C | 17.9°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.7°C | 11.5°C | 17.7°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.4°C | 8.0°C | 13.7°C | 109 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 11.7°C | 2.7°C | 7.2°C | 111 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 4.8°C | −2.5°C | 1.2°C | 89 mm | 44 cm |
| December | −1.0°C | −8.6°C | −4.8°C | 70 mm | 77 cm |
| Year | 10.2°C | −0.5°C | 4.8°C | 915 mm | 325 cm |
The most changeable month: February, give or take 3.7°C; the steadiest, August
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; March’s run from −34.4°C in 2003 to 26.7°C in 2012.
Where St. Joseph’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Sault Ste Marie, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about St. Joseph’s climate
How warm does St. Joseph get in summer?
Afternoons average 24.2°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does St. Joseph get in winter?
Of all twelve months, February has the coldest nights, about −14.7°C.
How much rain and snow does St. Joseph get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 915 mm; the range runs from 46 mm in February to 111 mm in October.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 129 days a year.
Are these figures for St. Joseph itself?
No. ECCC measures normals at Sault Ste Marie, not in St. Joseph; the page uses the nearest it has.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for St. Joseph →
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).