How Often it Snows in Ottawa
This first table lists monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.2 centimetres (0.08 inches).
Average total snowfall and days with fresh snow in Ottawa
Days Inches Centimetres
16.0 January 21.7 55
11.9 February 18.1 46
9.5 March 15.7 40
3.7 April 4.3 11
0.3 May 0.2 1
1.4 October 1.6 4
7.6 November 8.6 22
15.2 December 22.5 57
65.6 Year 92.8 236
When Ottawa Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of winter for Ottawa usually arrives in November, but can show up as early as October. A freak snow flurry in September has appeared, but the snow quickly melted.
The season's last snowfall typically happens in April although in some years a late skiff or even a dump of snow lands in May.
Ottawa is normally free of snow every year from June to August.
How Many Snowstorms Ottawa Gets
Most days of snowfall in Ottawa leave less than five centimetres (2 inches), of fresh snow on the ground. For 16 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least five cm.
Big snowstorms of over ten cm a day normally occur about six times a year. But major blizzards that dump 25 cm or more in one day are rare events that don't happen every year. Storms this severe are most likely to appear in February but can show up anytime from October to April.
Number of days per month and year on average in Ottawa with a total snowfall of at least 5, 10 or 20 centimetres
5 cm
2.0 inches 10 cm
3.9 inches 25 cm
9.8 inches
January 4.0 1.0 0.1
February 2.8 1.1 0.2
March 2.6 1.3 0.1
April 0.5 0.2 0.1
October 0.2 0.1 0.0
November 1.3 0.5 0.1
December 4.1 1.6 0.1
Year 15.6 5.7 0.6
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Ottawa
For about 122 days, or one-third, of the year, Ottawa has at least a centimetre of snow on the ground. In mid-winter the snowpack averages from 27 to 32 cm deep.
Generally the snow cover begins to build in December and remains deep throughout most of January, February and early March.
The snow melts rapidly in late March then disappears entirely in April.
Average total days per month and year in Ottawa with snow depth of at least 1, 5, 10 or 20 cm on the ground
1 cm
0.4 inches 5 cm
2.0 inches 10 cm
3.9 inches 20 cm
7.9 inches
30.4 29.0 January 25.6 19.6
27.9 27.2 February 25.2 17.6
25.5 22.3 March 18.6 14.5
5.9 3.5 April 2.7 1.1
0.5 0.2 October 0.1 0.0
7.2 4.0 November 1.6 0.5
24.6 20.3 December 16.5 8.6
122.0 106.4 Year 90.3 62.0
Reference
Environment Canada. National Climate Data and Information Archive.
Canadian Climate Normals or Averages 1971-2000.