Des Explorateurs has warmer summer afternoons than 78% of Canadian towns
Nights in January average −14.0°C. It is a wet place: more rain and snow fall here than on 60% of Canadian towns. Of all months, June brings the most precipitation and February the least. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 147 days a year at 0°C or below.
Des Explorateurs has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Ottawa (City), 11 km east.
A year in Des Explorateurs at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Des Explorateurs’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Des Explorateurs feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 147 days, 20°C on 121
Frost comes from October to April; in January almost every night freezes. On about 15 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
938 mm of precipitation in a typical year
On about 120 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 185 cm of snow a year
From October to April snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 45 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Des Explorateurs
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Warm days count for nothing; each colder day adds how far its mean sits below 18°C.
Living with Des Explorateurs’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
The growing season between frosts lasts about 158 days, roughly 30 April to 6 October.
Plan time outside for May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Roughly 39 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
The humidex tops 30 on about 50 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Des Explorateurs’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Ottawa (City)
ECCC builds the Ottawa (City) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 11 km east |
| Station altitude | 79 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −32.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.3°C |
| Average wind | 11.5 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Ottawa (Airport), 17 km |
How Des Explorateurs 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 Quebec.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Des Explorateurs whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 14–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Des Explorateurs.
Des Explorateurs 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 | −5.2°C | −14.0°C | −9.6°C | 65 mm | 45 cm |
| February | −3.3°C | −12.9°C | −8.1°C | 52 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 2.5°C | −6.9°C | −2.2°C | 62 mm | 31 cm |
| April | 11.2°C | 1.1°C | 6.2°C | 81 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19.4°C | 8.0°C | 13.8°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24.2°C | 13.3°C | 18.8°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.7°C | 15.8°C | 21.3°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.6°C | 14.6°C | 20.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.1°C | 10.1°C | 15.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.3°C | 4.1°C | 8.8°C | 90 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5.8°C | −1.8°C | 2.0°C | 72 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −1.5°C | −8.7°C | −5.1°C | 74 mm | 43 cm |
| Year | 11.7°C | 1.9°C | 6.8°C | 938 mm | 185 cm |
In March, anything from −28.5°C to 26.5°C
January is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 3.1°C of the normal, −9.6°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.1°C.
Where Des Explorateurs’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Ottawa (City), its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- 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 Des Explorateurs’s climate
How warm does Des Explorateurs get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 26.7°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Des Explorateurs get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −14.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Des Explorateurs get?
Count on roughly 938 mm a year, heaviest in June (95 mm) and lightest in February (52 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 115 days a year.
Are these figures for Des Explorateurs itself?
No, the station behind them is Ottawa (City), beyond Des Explorateurs’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Des Explorateurs →
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).