Ottawa Weather

Ottawa experiences a very mixed climate with four very distinct seasons with summers and winters offering opposing weather conditions, with the seasons in between seeing temperatures and climatic characteristics of a transitional nature.

Summer

Summers in Ottawa are warm and humid affairs, and are generally short, lasting from June to August at most. Temperatures hit maximums of around 27ºC in July and hover around the 25ºC mark in the months either side.

Rainfall is also quite significant during this season, with June and July seeing averages of 3.5 inches; August is a little drier, with an inch less perhaps. From a visitor perspective, summer is a good time to take a sightseeing holiday, as the weather permits light clothing and the extra sunshine makes travelling an altogether more pleasant affair.

Winter

Winters in Ottawa are exceptionally cold affairs and see icy conditions and heavy snowfall. Nights can be especially cold, with temperatures of around -25°C not uncommon. Days can be warmer but temperatures still regularly hit freezing or hover around the 1°C mark.

Few visitors come to Ottawa for a sightseeing holiday during the winter, unless they are from an especially cold country themselves and are well acclimatised. The city does, however, offer some good opportunities for winter sports, so those willing to brave the weather come to enjoy skiing holidays between December and March.

Average Temperature (°C)

20 15 10 5 0

Jan -10.0

Feb -7.9

Mar -3.3

Apr 4.0

May 9.6

Jun 13.4

Jul 16.4

Aug 15.3

Sep 10.5

Oct 5.4

Nov -2.5

Dec -7.1

Rainfall (mm)

90 68 45 22 0

Jan 67.0

Feb 58.9

Mar 66.7

Apr 59.9

May 71.8

Jun 81.7

Jul 85.6

Aug 80.2

Sep 77.4

Oct 68.6

Nov 70.3

Dec 73.8