Climate
Winnipeg lies in the middle of the North American continent on a low-lying, flat plain. Due to its location in the Canadian Prairies, and its distance from both mountains and oceans, it has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2b), in that there are great differences between summer and winter temperatures. The openness of the prairies leaves Winnipeg exposed to numerous weather systems including blizzards and cold Arctic high pressure systems, known as the Polar high. Winnipeg has four distinct seasons, with short transitional periods between winter and summer.
As high as 42.2 °C (108 °F) in July 1936 and as low as −47.8 °C (−54.0 °F) in December 1879 have occurred in the city, a 90C (162F) difference. According to Environment Canada, Winnipeg was the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000 based on the average night-time temperature from December to February, inclusive; however, now that Ulan Bator has grown bigger than Winnipeg, Ulan Bator, Mongolia is now the coldest city in the world (with a population of over 600,000).
The city averages 513.7 mm (20.22 in) of precipitation per year, although this can vary greatly from year to year.
| Climate data for Winnipeg (Winnipeg Airport) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Humidex | 6.3 | 11.1 | 18.8 | 34.1 | 40.2 | 46.1 | 44.7 | 45.5 | 45.9 | 34.3 | 23.9 | 9.3 | 46.1 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) |
11.7 (53.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
34.3 (93.7) |
37.0 (98.6) |
37.8 (100.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
40.6 (105.1) |
38.8 (101.8) |
31.1 (88.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
11.7 (53.1) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −12.7 (9.1) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
10.3 (50.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.8 (78.4) |
25.0 (77.0) |
18.6 (65.5) |
10.8 (51.4) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
8.3 (46.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −17.8 (0.0) |
−13.6 (7.5) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
19.5 (67.1) |
18.5 (65.3) |
12.3 (54.1) |
5.3 (41.5) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−14.4 (6.1) |
2.6 (36.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −22.8 (−9.0) |
−18.7 (−1.7) |
−11 (12) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
4.8 (40.6) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.3 (55.9) |
11.9 (53.4) |
6.0 (42.8) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−19.1 (−2.4) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −42.2 (−44.0) |
−45 (−49) |
−37.8 (−36.0) |
−26.3 (−15.3) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−34 (−29) |
−37.8 (−36.0) |
−45 (−49) |
| Wind chill | −56.4 | −57.1 | −48.8 | −35.8 | −20.8 | −7.4 | −0.1 | −3.9 | −11.5 | −24.2 | −48.1 | −50.6 | −57.1 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 19.7 (0.776) |
14.9 (0.587) |
21.5 (0.846) |
31.9 (1.256) |
58.8 (2.315) |
89.5 (3.524) |
70.6 (2.78) |
75.1 (2.957) |
52.3 (2.059) |
36.0 (1.417) |
25.0 (0.984) |
18.5 (0.728) |
513.7 (20.224) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 0.2 (0.008) |
2.5 (0.098) |
7.5 (0.295) |
21.5 (0.846) |
58.0 (2.283) |
89.5 (3.524) |
70.6 (2.78) |
75.1 (2.957) |
51.9 (2.043) |
31.0 (1.22) |
6.1 (0.24) |
1.6 (0.063) |
415.6 (16.362) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 23.1 (9.09) |
14.2 (5.59) |
15.8 (6.22) |
10.1 (3.98) |
0.8 (0.31) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.4 (0.16) |
5.0 (1.97) |
21.4 (8.43) |
19.8 (7.8) |
110.6 (43.54) |
| % humidity | 73.4 | 73.7 | 69.2 | 50.6 | 44.5 | 52.1 | 53.6 | 51.5 | 53.6 | 57.9 | 72.3 | 75.4 | 60.6 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 11.8 | 8.3 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 10.6 | 12.8 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 11.6 | 123.6 |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.63 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 10.3 | 12.8 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 76.9 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 12.2 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 9.2 | 11.4 | 54.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 120.1 | 137.8 | 178.4 | 239.1 | 286.2 | 283.2 | 317.5 | 280.2 | 186.4 | 147.1 | 95.6 | 100.3 | 2,371.8 |
| Source #1: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Extremes from 1938−2002, all other data from 1971−2000 | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for The Forks, Winnipeg | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −11 (12) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
5.8 (42.4) |
10.9 (51.6) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.2 (68.4) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
18.2 (64.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
9.8 (49.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −19.6 (−3.3) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
7.2 (45.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
8.0 (46.4) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
0.2 (32.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 19.7 (0.776) |
14.9 (0.587) |
21.5 (0.846) |
31.9 (1.256) |
58.8 (2.315) |
89.5 (3.524) |
70.6 (2.78) |
75.1 (2.957) |
52.3 (2.059) |
36.0 (1.417) |
25.0 (0.984) |
18.5 (0.728) |
513.7 (20.224) |
| Source #1: Weather Network | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Environment Canada(precipitation only). | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Geography And Climate Of Winnipeg
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