Photo: Bulliver · CC BY-SA 3.0Frosty mornings in Athabasca outnumber those of 91% of Canadian towns
Midsummer highs settle at about 23.1°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 88% of Canadian towns. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 42°C apart. Garden chairs stay out from June to August, the months with highs of 21–23°C.
Athabasca has no ECCC normals station nearby: the figures come from Lac la Biche, 81 km east, so read them as the wider area’s climate.
A year in Athabasca at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Athabasca’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Athabasca feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 202 days, 20°C on 82
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. Some 41 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 473 mm a year
The most falls in July, the least in February. About 84 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Precipitation: Fort Saskatchewan, 111 km away (Lac la Biche records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Athabasca
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 96% of Canadian towns.
Living with Athabasca’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Between the last frost, near 22 May, and the first, near 17 September, lie about 118 frost-free days.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 65 days a year here.
The air feels heavier than 30 on the humidex for about 8 days a year.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Athabasca’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Lac la Biche
Lac la Biche is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 81 km east |
| Station altitude | 567 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Fort Saskatchewan, 111 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.6°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.7°C |
| Average wind | 9.6 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Fort Saskatchewan, 111 km |
How Athabasca compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Athabasca’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 62–72 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Athabasca.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca Lac la Biche | 23.1°C | −19.1°C | 473 mm |
| Thorhild County 62 km · Fort Saskatchewan | 23.6°C 0.5°C warmer | −17.8°C 1.3°C milder | 473 mm |
| Westlock County 70 km · Campsie | 23.5°C about the same | −19.0°C about the same | 466 mm |
Athabasca weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8.8°C | −19.1°C | −13.9°C | 30 mm |
| February | −5.2°C | −16.8°C | −11.0°C | 14 mm |
| March | 0.1°C | −11.2°C | −5.6°C | 22 mm |
| April | 9.2°C | −3.1°C | 3.1°C | 27 mm |
| May | 16.8°C | 3.4°C | 10.1°C | 49 mm |
| June | 20.6°C | 8.2°C | 14.5°C | 78 mm |
| July | 23.1°C | 11.2°C | 17.2°C | 82 mm |
| August | 21.9°C | 9.5°C | 15.7°C | 56 mm |
| September | 16.4°C | 4.6°C | 10.5°C | 39 mm |
| October | 8.2°C | −1.5°C | 3.4°C | 23 mm |
| November | −1.3°C | −9.7°C | −5.5°C | 29 mm |
| December | −7.4°C | −17.1°C | −12.3°C | 23 mm |
| Year | 7.8°C | −3.5°C | 2.2°C | 473 mm |
A December here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 4.6°C; the steadiest month is June
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; March’s run from −41.8°C in 2009 to 17.6°C in 2019.
Where Athabasca’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Lac la Biche from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- Not on this page: a snowfall figure (none within 100 km), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Athabasca’s climate
How warm does Athabasca get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 23.1°C.
How cold does Athabasca get in winter?
Midwinter means January, when a typical night reaches −19.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Athabasca get?
About 473 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (82 mm) and February the driest (14 mm).
Are these figures for Athabasca itself?
No: they come from Lac la Biche, the nearest ECCC normals location, and far enough away to describe the wider area more than Athabasca.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Athabasca →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).