Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, Canada

In Sault Ste. Marie, the summers are comfortable and partly cloudy and the winters are freezing, snowy, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 8°F to 76°F and is rarely below -11°F or above 85°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Sault Ste. Marie for warm-weather activities is from early July to late August.

The warm season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 26 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 65°F. The hottest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is July, with an average high of 76°F and low of 56°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.4 months, from December 2 to March 14, with an average daily high temperature below 33°F. The coldest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is January, with an average low of 9°F and high of 23°F.

In Sault Ste. Marie, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sault Ste. Marie begins around May 28 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 23.

The clearest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 23 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around May 28.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% of the time.

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A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sault Ste. Marie varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.7 months, from May 3 to December 25, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sault Ste. Marie is September, with an average of 10.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.3 months, from December 25 to May 3. The month with the fewest wet days in Sault Ste. Marie is February, with an average of 4.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Sault Ste. Marie changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.6 months, from March 16 to December 4. The month with the most days of rain alone in Sault Ste. Marie is September, with an average of 10.7 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.4 months, from December 4 to March 16. The month with the most days of snow alone in Sault Ste. Marie is December, with an average of 4.8 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sault Ste. Marie experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from March 6 to December 28, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Sault Ste. Marie is September, with an average rainfall of 3.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from December 28 to March 6. The month with the least rain in Sault Ste. Marie is February, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sault Ste. Marie experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 24 to April 29, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Sault Ste. Marie is December, with an average snowfall of 8.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from April 29 to October 24. The least snow falls around July 24, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Sault Ste. Marie varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2026, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 34 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 50 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:43 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 38 minutes later at 8:21 AM on January 1. The earliest sunset is at 4:49 PM on December 10, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 45 minutes later at 9:34 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Sault Ste. Marie during 2026, starting in the spring on March 8, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 1.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2026. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Sault Ste. Marie experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from June 15 to September 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Sault Ste. Marie is July, with 3.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 28, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Sault Ste. Marie experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from October 2 to April 28, with average wind speeds of more than 7.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.2 months, from April 28 to October 2. The calmest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sault Ste. Marie varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 4.5 months, from January 10 to May 26, with a peak percentage of 34% on March 10. The wind is most often from the south for 3.9 weeks, from May 26 to June 22 and for 2.9 months, from August 17 to November 15, with a peak percentage of 37% on September 6. The wind is most often from the west for 1.8 months, from June 22 to August 17 and for 1.8 months, from November 15 to January 10, with a peak percentage of 37% on July 20.

Sault Ste. Marie is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.3 months, from July 13 to September 24, with an average temperature above 58°F. The month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 64°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 5.1 months, from December 11 to May 15, with an average temperature below 40°F. The month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 34°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sault Ste. Marie throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sault Ste. Marie for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sault Ste. Marie for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Sault Ste. Marie typically lasts for 4.9 months (149 days), from around May 12 to around October 8, rarely starting before April 23 or after June 2, and rarely ending before September 15 or after October 26.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Sault Ste. Marie should appear around May 13, only rarely appearing before May 2 or after May 28.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from May 4 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is June, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 26 to February 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sault Ste. Marie is December, with an average of 1.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sault Ste. Marie are 46.517 deg latitude, -84.333 deg longitude, and 617 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sault Ste. Marie contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 230 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 645 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (883 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,591 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sault Ste. Marie is covered by artificial surfaces (60%) and water (18%), within 10 miles by trees (58%) and cropland (14%), and within 50 miles by trees (55%) and water (30%).