Hamilton Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Hamilton, Ontario has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Hamilton usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that Hamilton normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when the city can expect its first and last snowfalls of the season.
The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019 recorded at the Hamilton Airport. All the other numbers are long-term historical averages based on weather data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens.
How Often it Snows in Hamilton
| Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 12.9 | 33 |
| February | 2.7 | 7 |
| March | 7.9 | 20 |
| April | 2.6 | 7 |
| November | 3.6 | 9 |
| December | 9.6 | 24 |
| Year | 39.4 | 100 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.5 | January | 12.8 | 32 |
| 8.6 | February | 12.3 | 31 |
| 4.9 | March | 7.2 | 18 |
| 1.2 | April | 1.1 | 3 |
| 2.6 | November | 2.9 | 7 |
| 8.4 | December | 10.2 | 26 |
| 36.2 | Year | 46.5 | 118 |
When Hamilton Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of winter for Hamilton often arrives in November, but can show up as early as October.
The season's last snowfall typically happens in March or April, although in some years a late snow lands in May.
Hamilton is normally free of snow every year from June to September.
How Many Snowstorms Hamilton Gets
Most days of snowfall in Hamilton leave less than five centimetres (2 inches) of fresh snow on the ground. For eight 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 three 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 January or February.
| 5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
25 cm 9.8 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| February | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| March | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Year | 7.8 | 2.9 | 0.2 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Hamilton
For about 74 days a year, Hamilton has at least a centimetre of snow on the ground. In mid-winter the snowpack averages five cm deep. Snow builds up the most snow in February when it's typically nine cm deep.
| 1 cm 0.4 inches |
5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
20 cm 7.9 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.6 | 13.9 | January | 6.3 | 0.8 |
| 20.0 | 14.6 | February | 11.0 | 6.5 |
| 14.4 | 8.3 | March | 5.9 | 2.8 |
| 2.0 | 0.7 | April | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 1.8 | 0.6 | November | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 13.4 | 7.1 | December | 4.1 | 0.3 |
| 74.2 | 45.1 | Year | 27.6 | 10.4 |
References
Environment Canada. Meteorological Service of Canada. Canadian Climate Normals. 1981-2010 Climate Normals & Averages.
Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.