Photo: Louis White · CC BY-SA 2.0

Climate in Saskatoon · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Saskatoon sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 357 mm a year

January nights here settle around −20.7°C. Frosty nights outnumber those of 92% of Canadian towns. Temperatures cover 46°C across the year, low to high. Garden chairs stay out from June to August, the months with highs of 22–25°C.

July afternoons: cooler than 62% of Canadian towns

January nights: colder than 90% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year: drier than 98% of Canadian towns

Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport) (7.2 km north-west).

July high

25.0°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−20.7°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

357 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

91 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

203

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

117

19 May to 15 Sep

A year in Saskatoon at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−10°C−21°CColdest nightsSnowiest

Feb−8°C−19°C

Mar−1°C−11°C

Apr11°C−3°C

May18°C3°CLast frost ~19 May

Jun22°C9°CWettest

Jul25°C12°CWarmest

Aug25°C10°C

Sep19°C5°CFirst frost ~15 Sep

Oct10°C−2°C

Nov now−1°C−10°C

Dec−8°C−18°C

What stands out about Saskatoon’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.

Drier than 98% of Canadian townsAbout 357 mm of rain and melted snow a year; June is the wettest month and February the driest.Less snowy than 91% of Canadian townsAbout 91 cm of snow falls in a year, most of it in January.A wider year than 91% of Canadian townsFrom January nights to July afternoons, the year spans 45.7°C.

A normal year

What a year in Saskatoon feels like

Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.

Winter

−9°C / −19°C

35 mm, with 48 cm of snow

Spring

9°C / −4°C

79 mm, with 23 cm of snow

Summer

24°C / 10°C

176 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

9°C / −3°C

67 mm, with 21 cm of snow

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

−10°C−21°C

−8°C−19°C

−1°C−11°C

11°C−3°C

18°C3°C

22°C9°C

25°C12°C

25°C10°C

19°C5°C

10°C−2°C

−1°C−10°C

−8°C−18°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJunJulAugHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

203 frost days and 105 days above 20°C a year

The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 49 nights a year.

117 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

19 May 15 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

203

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 92% of Canadian towns

111

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

105

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

357 mm of precipitation in a typical year

June brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. Some 63 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.

357 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 98% of Canadian towns

294 mm

Of it as rain alone (82%)

75 mm

June, the wettest month

9 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

75 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

72 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

Snowfall: about 91 cm in a normal year

Expect snow from October to May, with about 20 cm in January, the snowiest month.

91 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than 91% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

16 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of January, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

20 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

16 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Saskatoon

90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.

5,791 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,619 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 95% of Canadian towns.

Living here

Living with Saskatoon’s climate

The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.

The garden window

Between the last frost, near 19 May, and the first, near 15 September, lie about 117 frost-free days.

Get outside

Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Wind chill falls below −20 on about 83 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.

Humidex

Expect around 22 sticky days a year with the humidex above 30.

Storms and extremes

A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Saskatoon’s hazards page looks at those.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport)

ECCC builds the Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport) normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.

Distance from the town	7.2 km north-west
Station altitude	504 m
Completeness	meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule
WMO standard normals	No
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−44.9°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	38.6°C
Average wind	15.3 km/h on average, most often from the north-west
Next-nearest location	Watrous, 95 km

Compared with other towns

How Saskatoon 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 Saskatchewan.

July afternoons25.0°C

SaskatoonMedian Canadian town

20°C22°C24°C26°C28°C

Cooler than 62% of Canadian towns

January nights−20.7°C

SaskatoonMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Colder than 90% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year357 mm

SaskatoonMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than 98% of Canadian towns

Snowfall a year91 cm

SaskatoonMedian Canadian town

0100200300

Less snowy than 91% of Canadian towns

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Saskatoon’s own would show the same figures). Saskatoon has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 77–95 km out.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Saskatoon Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport)	25.0°C	−20.7°C	357 mm
Outlook 77 km · Rock Point	25.2°C about the same	−16.9°C 3.8°C milder	418 mm
Beardy's 97 and Okemasis 96 82 km · Prince Albert	24.2°C 0.8°C cooler	−22.8°C 2.1°C colder	432 mm
Biggar 92 km · Rosetown	25.2°C about the same	−19.9°C 0.8°C milder	338 mm
Watrous 95 km · Watrous	24.6°C about the same	−20.0°C 0.7°C milder	417 mm

Month by month

Saskatoon 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	−10.0°C	−20.7°C	−15.4°C	14 mm	20 cm
February	−7.9°C	−18.9°C	−13.4°C	9 mm	11 cm
March	−0.7°C	−11.4°C	−6.1°C	14 mm	14 cm
April	10.5°C	−2.6°C	3.9°C	23 mm	8 cm
May	18.3°C	3.4°C	10.9°C	42 mm	1 cm
June	22.1°C	9.0°C	15.6°C	75 mm	0 cm
July	25.0°C	11.5°C	18.3°C	59 mm	0 cm
August	24.8°C	10.0°C	17.4°C	43 mm	0 cm
September	19.1°C	4.7°C	11.9°C	32 mm	under 1 cm
October	9.9°C	−2.4°C	3.7°C	21 mm	7 cm
November	−0.7°C	−10.4°C	−5.6°C	14 mm	13 cm
December	−8.0°C	−18.0°C	−13.0°C	12 mm	17 cm
Year	8.5°C	−3.8°C	2.4°C	357 mm	91 cm

Year to year

February varies most from one year to the next (4.4°C), June least

Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. March spans the most, from −38.3°C (2003) to 19.6°C (2015).

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Saskatoon’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), its nearest location with complete 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, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.

Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Questions about Saskatoon’s climate

How warm does Saskatoon get in summer?

Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 25.0°C on a typical day.

How cold does Saskatoon get in winter?

On a normal January night the air drops to −20.7°C, the coldest of the year.

How much rain and snow does Saskatoon get?

The year adds up to 357 mm. June is the peak month (75 mm) and February the low one (9 mm).

Are these figures for Saskatoon itself?

Almost: ECCC’s Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport) location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside Saskatoon.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Saskatoon →

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).