Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 3.0No extremes in Waterloo: its weather tracks the middle of Canadian towns
A typical July afternoon reaches 26.6°C, a January night drops to −10.3°C, and 851 mm of rain and snow falls in a year. Summer afternoons here are warmer than in 70% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 37°C. Expect about 156 frosty starts a year, days when the air falls to freezing.
Borrowed figures: Waterloo has no normals station, so these come from Kitchener/Waterloo, 13 km east.
A year in Waterloo at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Waterloo’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Waterloo feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 156 days, 20°C on 122
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes. On about 7 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
851 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in July, the least in February. Some 115 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
115 cm of snow in a typical year
From November to April snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 32 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snowfall: Toronto Pearson (Airport), 77 km away (Kitchener/Waterloo records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Waterloo
91% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. That means homes here need less heating than 69% of Canadian towns.
Living with Waterloo’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
About 149 days a year pass without frost, from an average last frost of 8 May to a first of 5 October.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Waterloo’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kitchener/Waterloo
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Kitchener/Waterloo are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 13 km east |
| Station altitude | 322 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Toronto Pearson (Airport), 77 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −34.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Average wind | 13.8 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Elora, 22 km |
How Waterloo compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Ontario.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Waterloo whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest place to Waterloo with figures is 8 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Kitchener/Waterloo | 26.6°C | −10.3°C | 851 mm |
| Elmira 8.2 km · Elora | 25.4°C 1.2°C cooler | −10.7°C about the same | 851 mm |
Waterloo 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 | −2.3°C | −10.3°C | −6.3°C | 66 mm | 32 cm |
| February | −1.4°C | −10.3°C | −5.9°C | 46 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 4.1°C | −5.6°C | −0.8°C | 57 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 11.6°C | 0.1°C | 5.9°C | 81 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19.0°C | 6.2°C | 12.6°C | 80 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 24.1°C | 11.5°C | 17.8°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.6°C | 13.7°C | 20.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.5°C | 12.7°C | 19.1°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.6°C | 8.7°C | 15.2°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.1°C | 3.4°C | 8.8°C | 71 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 6.8°C | −1.6°C | 2.6°C | 75 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 0.7°C | −6.3°C | −2.8°C | 55 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 12.5°C | 1.9°C | 7.2°C | 851 mm | 115 cm |
The month with the widest range: March, −29.4°C to 26.5°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 3.1°C of the normal, −5.9°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.1°C.
Where Waterloo’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Kitchener/Waterloo, 1991–2020.
- 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: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- 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 Waterloo’s climate
How warm does Waterloo get in summer?
Afternoons average 26.6°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Waterloo get in winter?
Expect nights around −10.3°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Waterloo get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 851 mm; the range runs from 46 mm in February to 96 mm in July.
Are these figures for Waterloo itself?
No, the station behind them is Kitchener/Waterloo, beyond Waterloo’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Waterloo →
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).