Photo: Richard Coté · CC BY-SA 4.0Stratford is wetter than 93% of Canadian towns: 1,324 mm of rain and snow a year
January nights here settle around −16.1°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 40°C. About 167 days a year bring 1 mm of precipitation or more.
ECCC publishes no normals for Stratford itself; the figures are those of Thetford Mines, 32 km north.
A year in Stratford at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Stratford’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Stratford feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
177 frost days and 87 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. Some 25 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,324 mm of rain and snow a year
July is the wettest month and November the driest. 7th wettest of 514 towns of 2,500+ in Quebec.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 358 cm in a normal year
From October to May snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 81 cm. 6th snowiest of 494 towns of 2,500+ in Quebec.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Stratford
89% 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. By this count, homes here need more heating than 72% of Canadian towns.
Living with Stratford’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Stratford’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Thetford Mines
ECCC builds the Thetford Mines normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 32 km north |
| Station altitude | 381 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −35.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 32.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Sherbrooke, 50 km |
How Stratford compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Quebec.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Stratford’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 16–38 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Stratford.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford Thetford Mines | 23.5°C | −16.1°C | 1,324 mm |
| Weedon 16 km · Sherbrooke | 25.3°C 1.8°C warmer | −16.5°C about the same | 1,324 mm |
| La Guadeloupe 36 km · St Georges | 25.3°C 1.8°C warmer | −16.7°C 0.6°C colder | 1,054 mm |
| Nantes 38 km · St Ludger | 24.5°C 1.0°C warmer | −15.9°C about the same | 1,130 mm |
Stratford weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6.9°C | −16.1°C | −11.5°C | 102 mm | 72 cm |
| February | −5.4°C | −15.0°C | −10.2°C | 92 mm | 80 cm |
| March | 0.3°C | −9.2°C | −4.5°C | 95 mm | 67 cm |
| April | 7.8°C | −1.7°C | 3.1°C | 103 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 16.4°C | 5.3°C | 10.9°C | 107 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21.3°C | 10.5°C | 15.9°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.5°C | 13.2°C | 18.4°C | 140 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.5°C | 12.3°C | 17.4°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.3°C | 8.0°C | 13.2°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 10.7°C | 2.2°C | 6.4°C | 122 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 3.4°C | −3.9°C | −0.3°C | 91 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −3.5°C | −11.1°C | −7.3°C | 114 mm | 81 cm |
| Year | 9.0°C | −0.5°C | 4.3°C | 1,324 mm | 358 cm |
Two years in three, January’s average lands within 2.9°C of normal, against the steadier August
March has the widest record range, −28.7°C in 2007 to 22.2°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Stratford’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Thetford Mines (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Stratford’s climate
How warm does Stratford get in summer?
Highs reach 23.5°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Stratford get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −16.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Stratford get?
About 1,324 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (140 mm) and November the driest (91 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
On about 155 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Stratford itself?
Not directly: Stratford has no ECCC normals of its own, and Thetford Mines stands in for it.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Stratford →
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).