Ottawa weather by month & the best time to visit
🇨🇦 Canada · city break · continental climate
The best time to visit Ottawa is September — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 75/100), with August and July close behind. Ottawa averages about 2,034 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F and roughly 87 mm of rain in September.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,034
- Sunniest month
- September
- Peak score
- 75/100
- Rain / year
- 979 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈2.9 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 6 (high)
- Population
- 1.1M
- Elevation
- 112 m
When is the best time to visit Ottawa?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Ottawa is September, then August and July. The dullest month is January (0/100, 61 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Ottawa?
Ottawa gets a moderate 2,034 hours of sunshine a year. 75 Sunshine Score points separate September (75) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #120 of 242 destinations in Canada for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,024 hours. The year's 979 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | -6° / 21°F | -16° / 3°F | 61 mm | 1 |
| February | 0 | -5° / 23°F | -15° / 5°F | 55 mm | 2 |
| March | 0 | 2° / 36°F | -9° / 16°F | 64 mm | 3 |
| April | 19 | 11° / 52°F | -1° / 30°F | 85 mm | 4 |
| May | 69 | 19° / 66°F | 7° / 45°F | 85 mm | 5 |
| June | 72 | 23° / 73°F | 12° / 54°F | 104 mm | 6 |
| July | 73 | 26° / 79°F | 15° / 59°F | 98 mm | 6 |
| August | 74 | 25° / 77°F | 14° / 57°F | 88 mm | 6 |
| September | 75 | 21° / 70°F | 10° / 50°F | 87 mm | 4 |
| October | 30 | 13° / 55°F | 3° / 37°F | 99 mm | 2 |
| November | 0 | 5° / 41°F | -3° / 27°F | 73 mm | 1 |
| December | 0 | -3° / 27°F | -11° / 12°F | 80 mm | 1 |
See Ottawa on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Montréal Canada · 151 km · best in Sep · 1,981 h sun/yr
- Montréal Canada · 177 km · best in Sep · 1,981 h sun/yr
- Burlington United States · 220 km · best in Sep · 1,916 h sun/yr
- Syracuse United States · 248 km · best in May · 1,862 h sun/yr
- Rochester United States · 292 km · best in May · 1,838 h sun/yr
- Albany United States · 323 km · best in May · 2,041 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Gatineau Canada · 24 km · 2,035 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Ogdensburg United States · 73 km · 1,963 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Massena United States · 78 km · 1,833 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Watertown United States · 151 km · 1,866 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Saranac Lake United States · 155 km · 1,831 h sun/yr · best in Sep
Head-to-head
How Ottawa compares month by month: Ottawa vs Montréal · Ottawa vs Burlington · all comparisons
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