Geography and climate of Winnipeg

The city uses the grid plan but there are several different grids in place, as the city was originally thirteen separate municipalities and each developed under different circumstances and under different rules. Although it is common for roadways running north-south to be called "streets" and those running east-west to be called "avenues", the practice is far from universal, and few roadways run in a precise cardinal direction; an "east-west" road may run at a 45 degree angle from true east-west. Attempts in the early 20th century to bring order to the system by giving numerical names to the streets failed; all roadways in the city have proper names, some of which are repeated. (There is, for instance, a Wellington Crescent in River Heights and a Wellington Avenue in the West End, and a Killarney Avenue in Fort Garry and a Killarney Street in St. Vital.)

There is also no universal address numbering system in place. Address numbers usually increase as the distance from either the Red or Assiniboine rivers increases, but this is by no means uniform, even within a specific district. These peculiarities can cause serious problems for newcomers and visitors, especially in the older areas of the city, and may even affect postal and other deliveries.

Many of the main thoroughfares in Winnipeg are wide due to the spring soil conditions and the historical use of the Red River ox cart which created wide ruts in the (then) muddy roads. Portage Avenue has four lanes of traffic in each direction plus a central boulevard for much of its run through Winnipeg. Few thoroughfares, however, are as wide as the freeways seen in other Canadian cities (such as the 401 in Toronto or Deerfoot Trail in Calgary). Residential streets are commonly significantly narrower than streets in other Western Canadian cities, so narrow that parking is only possible on one side of the street.

Curling rink on the Red River at The Forks

Typical winter phenomena include the bonspiel (January) thaw, ice fog, and the aurora borealis. The city is virtually assured of having a white Christmas as there is only one 25 December on record in the last century where there was no snow on the ground. Out of Canada's 100 largest cities, Winnipeg's winter is the tenth coldest with an average low of −20.2 °C (−4.4 °F).[24] From December through February the maximum daily temperature exceeds 0 °C (32 °F), on average, for only 10 days and the minimum daily temperature falls below −20 °C (−4 °F) on 49 days.

Winnipeg mid-summer climate chart.

Summers are typically warm and generally not overly humid, with average humidity levels around 50% from June to August. Occasionally, humidex readings exceed 40. The trees will usually be in full bloom by late May and do not lose their leaves until early October. Winnipeg's growing season lasts from 25 May to 22 September;[25] and temperatures frequently hover in the mid to high twenties Celsius (77F to 86F). The city frequently gets thunderstorms during the summer, averaging 27 per season.[26] The city can occasionally have short blasts of hot weather like on 23 August 2011 the temperature reached 37.2 °C (99 °F).[27] The temperature reaches at or above 30 °C (86 °F) 14 times a year, which is ranked the 16th highest in Canada, just above Toronto, Ontario.[28] The highest temperature ever recorded in Winnipeg (since commencement of record-keeping in 1873) was 42.2 °C (108 °F) on 11 July 1936;[29] and the hottest temperature recorded in the past 50 years was 38.7 °C (102 °F) on 6 August 1988 and again on 1 August 1989. The highest humidex reading was 48 on 25 July 2007.[30]

Assiniboine River walkway near The Forks in fall

The weather during these seasons is highly variable, and rapidly changing. For example, temperatures in Winnipeg in April have ranged from −6.3 °C (21 °F) to 34.3 °C (94 °F), and in October from −6 °C (21 °F) to 30.5 °C (87 °F). The city often receives an Indian summer, when summer weather returns briefly after the first frosts, usually in late September or sometimes October. Some Septembers can have gorgeous weather, like in September 2009 Winnipeg only saw 4 days with daytime highs below 20 °C (68 °F) at the Forks weather station.[31]

Winnipeg is one of Canada's sunniest cities, and the weather in all seasons is characterized by an abundance of sunshine. In July and August combined, Winnipeg has 60 out of 62 days with measurable sunshine; and has an annual average of 306 days a year with measurable sunshine.[32] November is the least sunny month while July and August are the most sunny months.[32] Winnipeg is ranked second for Canada's clearest skies year-round, sixth sunniest city year-round, and second for sunniest city in Canada in spring and winter.[18] Winnipeg is sunnier in the summer, spring, and winter than any Canadian city east of it.[33] Winnipeg has short daylight hours in the winter and long daylight hours in the summer. On the shortest day of the year (21 December) Winnipeg only has 8 hours and 5 minutes of daylight with the sun setting at 4:29pm and doesn't rise until 8:24am.[34] On 21 June (the longest day of the year) Winnipeg has 16 hours and 21 minutes of daylight with twilight ending at 10:25pm and twilight starting at 4:35am.[34]

Winnipeg has moderate precipitation with 513.7 mm (20.22 in) of precip per year.[18] There is measurable rainfall on 76.9 days throughout the year, and 54.7 days with snowfall.[18] Most of the precipitation occurs in the warmer months, with June being the wettest month and February being the driest. Droughts can take place in the region, however they do not happen as frequently as cities further west like Calgary or Swift Current. During the winter Winnipeg will get precipitation mostly in the form of snow, with 36 days of snow falling from December to February. Even in the winter there is occasional rainfall with 2.5 days on average of rainfall during December to February.[32] Other forms of winter precipitation include ice, sleet, and freezing rain. Snow cover usually lasts from November till March, about 132 days or 36% of the year;.[35] The city frequently gets thunderstorms during the summer, averaging 27 days a year with thunderstorms.[26]

Winnipeg has a reputation for being a windy city with the intersection of Portage and Main being called the windiest intersection in Canada;[36] however, Winnipeg is only the 12th windiest city in Canada, just below Hamilton, Ontario.[37] The average annual wind speed is 16.9 km/h (10.5 mph), predominantly from the south but the city has experienced wind gusts of up to 129 km/h (80 mph).[18] April is the windiest month, and July the least windy. Tornadoes do occur in the area, particularly in the spring and summer months, however they are not frequent.[38] A Fujita scale F5 tornado struck Elie (just 30 km (19 mi) west of Winnipeg) in 2007; this was the strongest tornado ever recorded in Canada.[39]