Photo: Maxime Laterreur · CC BY 4.0Precipitation in Waterloo tops that of 91% of Canadian towns: 1,226 mm a year
Midsummer highs settle at about 25.6°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 39°C. Long walks are most pleasant from May to September, when afternoons reach 19–26°C.
ECCC publishes no normals for Waterloo itself; the figures are those of Granby, 16 km west.
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 Quebec beside it.
What a year in Waterloo feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
154 frost days and 111 days above 20°C a year
The frost season runs October to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Some 14 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
1,226 mm of precipitation in a typical year
July is the wettest month and February the driest. Some 145 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 262 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from October to April, with about 59 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Waterloo
92% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days.
Living with Waterloo’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Count on about 154 frost-free days: the last frost averages 6 May, the first 8 October.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Waterloo’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Granby
Granby is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 16 km west |
| Station altitude | 175 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −34.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | Sutton, 33 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 Quebec.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Waterloo whose figures come from another normals location. Waterloo has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 12–23 km out.
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 | −4.6°C | −13.4°C | −9.1°C | 95 mm | 59 cm |
| February | −3.2°C | −11.9°C | −7.4°C | 74 mm | 58 cm |
| March | 2.2°C | −6.4°C | −2.2°C | 88 mm | 48 cm |
| April | 10.5°C | 0.9°C | 5.9°C | 101 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 18.7°C | 8.0°C | 13.1°C | 100 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 23.3°C | 13.0°C | 18.3°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.6°C | 15.7°C | 20.4°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.6°C | 14.8°C | 19.5°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.3°C | 10.6°C | 15.4°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12.8°C | 4.6°C | 8.6°C | 109 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 5.8°C | −1.5°C | 2.2°C | 92 mm | 22 cm |
| December | −1.0°C | −8.4°C | −4.9°C | 98 mm | 54 cm |
| Year | 11.3°C | 2.2°C | 6.6°C | 1,226 mm | 262 cm |
The month with the widest range: March, −27.5°C to 25.0°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; January is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±3.4°C around −9.1°C), August the one that wanders least (±1.0°C).
Where Waterloo’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Granby: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
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?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 25.6°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Waterloo get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −13.4°C.
How much rain and snow does Waterloo get?
Count on roughly 1,226 mm a year, heaviest in July (122 mm) and lightest in February (74 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 113 days a year.
Are these figures for Waterloo itself?
Not exactly. Waterloo lacks a normals station, so Granby supplies the figures.
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).