St. John's Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often St. John's, Newfoundland has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that St. John's usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that St. John's 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. All the other numbers are long-term historical averages based on weather data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at the St. John's International Airport.
How Often it Snows in St. John's
| Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 33.9 | 86 |
| February | 30.0 | 76 |
| March | 22.6 | 57 |
| April | 11.2 | 28 |
| May | 2.3 | 6 |
| June | 0.0 | 0 |
| September | 0.0 | 0 |
| October | 0.3 | 1 |
| November | 6.6 | 17 |
| December | 23.3 | 59 |
| Year | 130.3 | 331 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18.3 | January | 34.9 | 89 |
| 14.6 | February | 28.0 | 71 |
| 13.3 | March | 22.5 | 57 |
| 7.0 | April | 10.0 | 25 |
| 2.1 | May | 1.7 | 4 |
| 0.1 | June | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1.4 | October | 0.9 | 2 |
| 7.6 | November | 8.8 | 22 |
| 14.6 | December | 25.0 | 63 |
| 78.9 | Year | 131.9 | 335 |
When St. John's Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of autumn for St. John's usually arrives in October or November. While the city doesn't normally get snow in September, flakes have fallen then.
The season's last snowfall often happens in May although in some years a late snow lands in June.
St. John's is normally free of snow every year during July and August.
How Many Snowstorms St. John's Gets
Most days of snowfall in St. John's leave less than five centimetres (2 inches) of fresh snow on the ground. For 22 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 nine times a year. Major blizzards that dump 25 cm or more in one day are uncommon events that happen on average just once a year. Storms this severe can show up anytime from December to April.
| 5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
25 cm 9.8 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| February | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| March | 3.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| April | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| May | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 4.1 | 2.0 | 0.2 |
| Year | 21.8 | 9.3 | 1.1 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in St. John's
For about 114 days a year, St. John's has at least a centimetre of snow on the ground. In mid-winter the snowpack averages around 31 cm deep.
Often there's snow lying around by the end of November. The snow cover is generally deepest in February when it averages 32 cm. By late April the snow is mostly gone.
| 1 cm 0.4 inches |
5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
20 cm 7.9 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.0 | 21.4 | January | 17.3 | 10.4 |
| 24.5 | 21.9 | February | 19.1 | 13.2 |
| 25.9 | 20.8 | March | 16.3 | 11.0 |
| 11.7 | 6.4 | April | 4.8 | 2.5 |
| 1.0 | 0.4 | May | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 0.2 | 0.1 | October | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 5.0 | 2.0 | November | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| 18.6 | 12.7 | December | 8.9 | 3.9 |
| 113.9 | 85.8 | Year | 67.4 | 41.2 |
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.