Hardly any Canadian towns see harsher January nights than Torch River No. 488
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 23.8°C. Precipitation is light here, less than falls on 87% of Canadian towns. Expect the most rain and snow in July and the least in February. Homes need heating from October to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
These are not Torch River No. 488’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Nipawin, 21 km south-east.
A year in Torch River No. 488 at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Torch River No. 488’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.
What a year in Torch River No. 488 feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 211 frosts and 95 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 64 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
424 mm of precipitation in a typical year
On about 68 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 128 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs October to May; December brings the most, about 28 cm. 4th snowiest of 102 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Torch River No. 488
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. A house here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Torch River No. 488’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 23 May until frost returns near 15 September: about 114 days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Summer brings about 17 days when the humidex passes 30.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Torch River No. 488’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Nipawin
ECCC builds the Nipawin normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 21 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 372 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.9°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.2°C |
| Average wind | 13.4 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Melfort, 70 km |
How Torch River No. 488 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 Saskatchewan.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Torch River No. 488 whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 64–78 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Torch River No. 488.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torch River No. 488 Nipawin | 23.8°C | −23.4°C | 424 mm |
| Tisdale 64 km · Melfort | 23.4°C about the same | −21.1°C 2.3°C milder | 397 mm |
| Candle Lake 78 km · Prince Albert | 24.2°C about the same | −22.8°C 0.6°C milder | 432 mm |
Torch River No. 488 weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −12.5°C | −23.4°C | −18.0°C | 17 mm | 22 cm |
| February | −9.9°C | −21.5°C | −15.7°C | 11 mm | 18 cm |
| March | −2.5°C | −14.4°C | −8.4°C | 13 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 8.0°C | −4.3°C | 1.9°C | 25 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 17.3°C | 2.4°C | 9.9°C | 34 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21.4°C | 8.7°C | 15.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.8°C | 11.2°C | 17.5°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.6°C | 9.7°C | 16.6°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.7°C | 4.3°C | 11.1°C | 40 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 8.2°C | −2.5°C | 2.9°C | 29 mm | 12 cm |
| November | −2.7°C | −11.8°C | −7.3°C | 16 mm | 18 cm |
| December | −10.3°C | −20.3°C | −15.3°C | 16 mm | 28 cm |
| Year | 6.9°C | −5.2°C | 0.9°C | 424 mm | 128 cm |
A December here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 4.5°C; the steadiest month is July
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than April, between −27.1°C (2020) and 30.4°C (2001).
Where Torch River No. 488’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Nipawin from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- 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 Torch River No. 488’s climate
How warm does Torch River No. 488 get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 23.8°C.
How cold does Torch River No. 488 get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging −23.4°C.
How much rain and snow does Torch River No. 488 get?
July is the wettest month at 88 mm and February the driest at 11 mm, for 424 mm over the year.
Are these figures for Torch River No. 488 itself?
Not directly: Torch River No. 488 has no ECCC normals of its own, and Nipawin stands in for it.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Torch River No. 488 →
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).