Watford has warmer summer afternoons than 91% of Canadian towns
January nights here settle around −8.5°C. Winters are mild: January nights here are milder than in 81% of Canadian towns. No month is much wetter than another: November, the wettest, gets little more than February, the driest. Plan time outside for May, June, August and September, when highs sit at 20–26°C.
These are not Watford’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Strathroy-Mullifarry, 19 km east.
A year in Watford at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Watford’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Ontario beside it.
What a year in Watford feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
137 frost days and 131 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes. About 17 days a year top 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 966 mm of rain and snow a year
About 132 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
152 cm of snow in a typical year
The snow season runs October to April; January brings the most, about 43 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Watford
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up. In heating terms, homes need less heating than 86% of Canadian towns.
Living with Watford’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Wait until about 8 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 11 October, about 155 days later.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark May, Jun, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →A typical year is calm by definition; Watford’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Strathroy-Mullifarry
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Strathroy-Mullifarry are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 19 km east |
| Station altitude | 229 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −32.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Sarnia, 36 km |
How Watford 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Watford’s would only repeat its figures. No closer place has figures: this one lies 20 km from Watford.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watford Strathroy-Mullifarry | 27.3°C | −8.5°C | 966 mm |
| Plympton-Wyoming 20 km · Sarnia | 26.5°C 0.8°C cooler | −8.2°C about the same | 871 mm |
Watford weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.5°C | −8.5°C | −5.0°C | 81 mm | 43 cm |
| February | −0.4°C | −8.3°C | −4.4°C | 62 mm | 32 cm |
| March | 5.1°C | −3.8°C | 0.7°C | 66 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 12.7°C | 2.1°C | 7.4°C | 88 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19.9°C | 8.2°C | 14.1°C | 84 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 25.0°C | 13.5°C | 19.3°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27.3°C | 15.7°C | 21.5°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26.2°C | 14.8°C | 20.5°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22.8°C | 11.1°C | 17.0°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15.3°C | 5.8°C | 10.6°C | 84 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 7.8°C | 0.4°C | 4.1°C | 90 mm | 13 cm |
| December | 1.5°C | −4.7°C | −1.6°C | 79 mm | 37 cm |
| Year | 13.5°C | 3.9°C | 8.7°C | 966 mm | 152 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 3.2°C; June the least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −28.0°C in 2015 and a high of 27.5°C in 2012.
Where Watford’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Strathroy-Mullifarry: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- 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: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Watford’s climate
How warm does Watford get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 27.3°C.
How cold does Watford get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −8.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Watford get?
November is the wettest month at 90 mm and February the driest at 62 mm, for 966 mm over the year.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 80 days a year.
Are these figures for Watford itself?
Not as such: Strathroy-Mullifarry is the nearest normals location, and Watford has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Watford →
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).