Hardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than University: 357 mm a year
In January the night’s low is typically −20.7°C. Frost is common: about 203 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in 92% of Canadian towns. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 46°C. Have the furnace checked before October to April, the months that average under 10°C.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport) location, 8.5 km west.
A year in University at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about University’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.
What a year in University feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 203 frosts and 105 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 49 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
Rain and melted snow: about 357 mm a year
The most falls in June, the least in February. Some 63 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
91 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from October to May, most of all in January (about 20 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in University
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than 95% of Canadian towns.
Living with University’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
A normal year gives the garden about 117 frost-free days, roughly 19 May to 15 September.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Roughly 83 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
Plan shade and water for about 22 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for University: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →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 | 8.5 km 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, 94 km |
How University compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Saskatchewan.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around University whose figures come from another normals location. No closer places have figures: these lie 79–94 km from University.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| University Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport) | 25.0°C | −20.7°C | 357 mm |
| Outlook 79 km · Rock Point | 25.2°C about the same | −16.9°C 3.8°C milder | 418 mm |
| Beardy's 97 and Okemasis 96 80 km · Prince Albert | 24.2°C 0.8°C cooler | −22.8°C 2.1°C colder | 432 mm |
| Watrous 94 km · Watrous | 24.6°C about the same | −20.0°C 0.7°C milder | 417 mm |
University 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 |
March: −38.3°C at its coldest, 19.6°C at its warmest
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 4.4°C around its normal of −13.4°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.1°C.
Where University’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 University’s climate
How warm does University get in summer?
Highs reach 25.0°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does University get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −20.7°C.
How much rain and snow does University get?
The yearly total is about 357 mm. June gets 75 mm, the most of any month; February gets 9 mm, the least.
Are these figures for University itself?
They are the normals for Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport), measured just outside University itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for University →
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).