Canadian Weather

Most of Canada has four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Temperatures and conditions differ from season to season in most parts of the country. In summer, Canada can be very hot. Winter can be so cold that you could freeze if you are not properly dressed.

Be Prepared

The best way to cope with Canada’s changing weather is to be prepared. Read or listen to weather reports in newspapers or on radio and television. (If you have cable television, you may have a channel that broadcasts weather information all day and night.) You can then dress yourself and your children for comfort no matter what the day brings.

Canada measures temperature using the Celsius (Centigrade) thermometer. The United States uses the Fahrenheit scale.

Spring

Spring is a rainy season in most parts of Canada. Average daytime temperatures rise steadily, but nights remain cool..

In southern Canada, the first flowers usually bloom in March. New leaves do not appear on

the trees until April or May. However, spring may arrive up to two months earlier in

Vancouver and Victoria. These cities on the southern West Coast have the shortest and mildest winter in Canada.

Summer

Summer officially begins on June 21. However, July and August represent summer for most Canadians. In summer the weather is usually very warm in most parts of the country. In southern Canada, daytime temperatures normally stay above 20 degrees Celsius, and can sometimes rise above 30 degrees.

Autumn

Autumn in Canada is also called fall. You will know that autumn has begun when the first frost occurs overnight. Frost is common after the middle of September. In late September and October, the leaves of trees change color and fall to the ground. Only trees with needles (coniferous trees) stay green all year around.

Autumn can be very rainy. Snow begins to fall during November in many areas except the southern West Coast.

Winter

During the winter months of December, January, February and March, the temperature usually stays below freezing (0 degrees Celsius) day and night.

Temperatures in some parts of the country drop below -25 degrees Celsius.

In Vancouver and Victoria, the temperature drops below freezing for only a few days in December and January. In the rest of Canada, snow will probably be on the ground from late December to the middle of March.

Winter is colder and lasts longer the further north you go. In the winter the wind-chill temperature is often much lower than the actual air temperature. The wind-chill temperature tells you how cold the air feels when it is windy. The wind-chill temperature is the one you should prepare for.

Winter conditions may last from November through April in many parts of Canada. You should be prepared for cold rain as well as snow in early and late winter.