The Home Almanac

The Frost Atlas

Canada, drawn by its weather stations: 655 official points of the 30-year climate record. Colour is the length of the frost-free season. Tap any station for its dates.

Dots placed by true station coordinates; no basemap needed, the record draws the country. Source: ECCC Canadian Climate Normals.

The record's extremes

Longest season

262 days

Green Island, BC

Shortest season

14 days

Resolute Cars, NU

Latest spring frost

July 9

Resolute Cars, NU

Earliest fall frost

July 24

Resolute Cars, NU

Mean dates over the 30-year normal period; individual years vary widely. National average frost-free season: about 124 days.

Reading the Atlas

Where is the longest growing season in Canada?

In the official 30-year record, Green Island holds the longest mean frost-free season at 262 days. The national average across 638 stations with frost normals is about 124 days.

Where is the shortest growing season in Canada?

Resolute Cars records a mean frost-free season of just 14 days. At stations like this, frost can arrive in any month and season extension is the difference between a garden and none.

What am I looking at?

Every dot is one of 655 official Environment Canada weather stations, placed by its real coordinates; together they trace the inhabited shape of the country. Colour is the length of the mean frost-free season. Tap a dot for that station's frost dates and winter tire windows, then send them to your calendar.