Ottawa climate

Name: Ottawa
Address: CA

Ottawa is warmest in July, with average highs of 26 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -14 °C. June is the wettest month (100 mm) and February the driest (58 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Ottawa averages 1,024 mm of rain, 53 days above 25 °C and 142 days below freezing.

Canada · population 1,017,449 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 26 °C
Coldest month January -14 °C
Driest month February 58 mm
Wettest month June 100 mm
Least cloud July 55 % cloud
Hottest on record June 37 °C
Coldest on record January -33 °C

What to expectOttawa through the year

Ottawa has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -4.5 °C in January to 26 °C in July, a swing of 30 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 53 days a year reach 25 °C, 8 of them reach 30 °C, 142 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C, in June.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 58 mm in February to 100 mm in June. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	-4.5 °C	73 mm	72 %
February	-2.8 °C	58 mm	67 %
March	2.8 °C	71 mm	65 %
April	11.0 °C	90 mm	65 %
May	18.9 °C	88 mm	61 %
June	23.6 °C	100 mm	61 %
July	25.9 °C	97 mm	55 %
August	24.8 °C	91 mm	56 %
September	20.7 °C	95 mm	57 %
October	13.1 °C	99 mm	66 %
November	5.8 °C	83 mm	74 %
December	-0.7 °C	79 mm	78 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	-4.5 °C	-13.6 °C	-9.4 °C	13.1 °C	-33.4 °C	0	0	30
February	-2.8 °C	-12.3 °C	-8.0 °C	11.9 °C	-32.2 °C	0	0	27
March	2.8 °C	-6.6 °C	-2.4 °C	24.9 °C	-27.0 °C	0	0	26
April	11.0 °C	0.8 °C	5.4 °C	28.9 °C	-14.1 °C	0	0	13
May	18.9 °C	8.1 °C	13.1 °C	33.7 °C	-3.5 °C	4	0	0
June	23.6 °C	13.6 °C	18.4 °C	37.1 °C	4.4 °C	11	2	0
July	25.9 °C	16.6 °C	21.0 °C	35.5 °C	9.0 °C	18	4	0
August	24.8 °C	16.2 °C	20.1 °C	35.7 °C	9.6 °C	14	2	0
September	20.7 °C	12.3 °C	16.1 °C	33.6 °C	1.2 °C	5	0	0
October	13.1 °C	6.0 °C	9.0 °C	26.8 °C	-3.6 °C	0	0	2
November	5.8 °C	-0.4 °C	2.3 °C	19.8 °C	-16.3 °C	0	0	16
December	-0.7 °C	-7.5 °C	-4.5 °C	15.1 °C	-31.6 °C	0	0	28

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	73 mm	11	9.1 h/day	72 %	76 %	17 km/h
February	58 mm	9	10 h/day	67 %	73 %	17 km/h
March	71 mm	10	12 h/day	65 %	70 %	17 km/h
April	90 mm	11	14 h/day	65 %	65 %	18 km/h
May	88 mm	11	15 h/day	61 %	66 %	16 km/h
June	100 mm	11	16 h/day	61 %	70 %	15 km/h
July	97 mm	12	15 h/day	55 %	72 %	14 km/h
August	91 mm	11	14 h/day	56 %	74 %	14 km/h
September	95 mm	10	13 h/day	57 %	75 %	15 km/h
October	99 mm	11	11 h/day	66 %	76 %	17 km/h
November	83 mm	11	9.5 h/day	74 %	77 %	17 km/h
December	79 mm	11	8.7 h/day	78 %	79 %	17 km/h

How Ottawa compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Ottawa	26 °C	-14 °C	1,024 mm	53
Laval · Canada	26 °C	-14 °C	1,047 mm	50
Montréal · Canada	25 °C	-15 °C	1,097 mm	36
Longueuil · Canada	26 °C	-14 °C	1,097 mm	52

Where Ottawa ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in North America in February	12thof 50	-2.8 °C
The coolest places in North America in January	13thof 50	-4.5 °C
The coolest places in North America in March	13thof 50	2.8 °C
The coolest places in North America in November	13thof 50	5.8 °C
The coolest places in North America in October	14thof 50	13 °C
The coolest places in North America in December	15thof 50	-0.7 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Ottawa.

QuestionsCommon questions about Ottawa’s climate

When is the best time to visit Ottawa?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Ottawa get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 26 °C. About 8 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -14 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 142 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Ottawa?

June, averaging 100 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is February with 58 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,024 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Ottawa rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.