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South Portland Gardens has a warm-summer humid continental climate.
Warm summers and long, cold winters with snow. Rain in every month — here's what that means in plain terms.
What this climate feels like
The four things a regular visitor actually wants to know:
Highs near 26°C in July. About 5 days a year above 32 °C.
Lows near −9°C in January. About 144 freezing nights a year.
About 1222 mm of rain a year, plus 174 cm of snow. Snow falls through the winter months.
A roughly even mix of sun and cloud.
What "warm-summer humid continental" means
Climate scientists sort every place on Earth into about 30 climate types, based on how hot, cold, wet and dry it is across the year. South Portland Gardens's type — warm-summer humid continental — sits in the broad family of four-season continental climates.
Researchers write climate types as a short letter code. Here is what each letter means:
Cities with the same climate as South Portland Gardens
A warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) — these recognizable cities share it. If you know one of them, you know roughly what to expect.
South Portland Gardens sits near a climate boundary
This city sits right on the line between warm-summer humid continental and the next type along. Different climate maps file it on different sides of that line; the lived weather doesn't change at the line — it's a naming boundary, not a wall.
Has South Portland Gardens's climate type changed?
Stable — South Portland Gardens's climate has held the same type between the 1971–2000 and 1991–2020 normals. The label is steady; the climate beneath it is still warming.
What this climate means for you
A ~5-month growing season — hardy apples, maples, root vegetables, brassicas. Heat-loving crops are marginal without season-extension.
Summer is the practical window; autumn brings spectacular foliage in many areas. Winter is for skiing and ice — beautiful but brutal.
Long, cold winters and warm but not hot summers. Heating dominates. A strong outdoor culture in summer to balance the long indoor winter.
Where these numbers come from
The climate type and the month-by-month figures on this page are computed from South Portland Gardens's measured 30-year climate normals (1991–2020) — the same official records behind South Portland Gardens's main climate page, so the two always agree.
Long-range climate maps measure things slightly differently and can place a city in a neighbouring category. Where they differ, this page uses the measured station record as the climate today.
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Portland Jetport (NOAA GHCN station USW00014764), inside the city.