Ice on the ground: Wadena sees more frosts than 90% of Canadian towns
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 24.2°C. Counting rain and snow together, it is drier than 75% of Canadian towns. Winter and summer sit 44°C apart. Long walks are most pleasant from June to August, when afternoons reach 21–24°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location is Kelliher, 77 km south: at that distance its figures describe the region more than Wadena itself.
A year in Wadena at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Wadena’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.
What a year in Wadena feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 201 days, 20°C on 91
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 46 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
501 mm of precipitation in a typical year
June brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. 3rd wettest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan. Some 90 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 129 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs September to May; December brings the most, about 23 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 Wadena
89% 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. A house here needs more heating than 97% of Canadian towns.
Living with Wadena’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Wait until about 19 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 19 September, about 122 days later.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Wadena’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kelliher
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Kelliher, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 77 km south |
| Station altitude | 676 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Melfort, 111 km |
How Wadena 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 Wadena whose figures come from another normals location. Wadena has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 78–95 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena Kelliher | 24.2°C | −20.0°C | 501 mm |
| Preeceville 78 km · Yorkton | 24.4°C about the same | −20.9°C 0.9°C colder | 448 mm |
| Lanigan 85 km · Watrous | 24.6°C about the same | −20.0°C about the same | 417 mm |
Wadena 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 | −10.7°C | −20.0°C | −15.3°C | 21 mm | 21 cm |
| February | −8.3°C | −18.2°C | −13.3°C | 15 mm | 15 cm |
| March | −1.3°C | −11.5°C | −6.4°C | 21 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 8.7°C | −2.9°C | 2.9°C | 33 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 16.9°C | 3.8°C | 10.4°C | 46 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 21.3°C | 9.5°C | 15.4°C | 86 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 24.2°C | 12.1°C | 18.2°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.7°C | 10.8°C | 17.2°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.9°C | 5.7°C | 11.8°C | 45 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 8.7°C | −1.4°C | 3.7°C | 32 mm | 11 cm |
| November | −1.6°C | −9.9°C | −5.8°C | 24 mm | 22 cm |
| December | −8.6°C | −17.2°C | −12.9°C | 24 mm | 23 cm |
| Year | 7.6°C | −3.3°C | 2.2°C | 501 mm | 129 cm |
A March here can run from −38.5°C to 19.0°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; February is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±4.4°C around −13.3°C), June the one that wanders least (±1.3°C).
Where Wadena’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Kelliher, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Wadena’s climate
How warm does Wadena get in summer?
Afternoons average 24.2°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Wadena get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −20.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Wadena get?
Count on roughly 501 mm a year, heaviest in June (86 mm) and lightest in February (15 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Count on about 151 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.
Are these figures for Wadena itself?
They are the figures for Kelliher, which read better as the region’s climate than Wadena’s own.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Wadena →
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).