Photo: Andrawaag · CC BY-SA 4.0Few Canadian towns have cooler summers than Big Lakes County
In January the night’s low is typically −18.2°C. Of all months, July brings the most precipitation and March the least. It is a dry place: less rain and snow fall here than on 94% of Canadian towns. Long walks are most pleasant from June to August, when afternoons reach 20–22°C.
Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for Big Lakes County come from Slave Lake, 93 km east, so take them as the area’s climate.
A year in Big Lakes County at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Big Lakes County’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Big Lakes County feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 202 frosts and 68 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. Some 36 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
422 mm of precipitation in a typical year
On about 85 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 93 cm of snow a year
Expect snow from October to May, with about 20 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Big Lakes County
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 96% of Canadian towns.
Living with Big Lakes County’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Seedlings can go out once the average last frost, around 26 May, has passed; autumn’s first, near 16 September, ends a season of about 112 days.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 71 days a year.
Summer brings about 6 days when the humidex passes 30.
Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Big Lakes County’s hazards page does.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Slave Lake
ECCC builds the Slave Lake normals from 5 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 93 km east |
| Station altitude | 583 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −44.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.9°C |
| Average wind | 12.5 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Peace River, 110 km |
How Big Lakes County compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Big Lakes County’s would only repeat its figures. No closer place has figures: this one lies 22 km from Big Lakes County.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lakes County Slave Lake | 21.8°C | −18.2°C | 422 mm |
| High Prairie 22 km · Peace River | 22.7°C 0.9°C warmer | −20.1°C 1.9°C colder | 384 mm |
Big Lakes County weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8.3°C | −18.2°C | −13.3°C | 19 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −4.8°C | −16.2°C | −10.5°C | 13 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 0.6°C | −10.8°C | −5.1°C | 13 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 8.5°C | −3.1°C | 2.7°C | 23 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 15.8°C | 3.0°C | 9.4°C | 41 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19.6°C | 8.3°C | 14.0°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 21.8°C | 10.9°C | 16.4°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 20.9°C | 9.5°C | 15.2°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 15.7°C | 4.4°C | 10.1°C | 42 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 8.1°C | −1.4°C | 3.3°C | 27 mm | 8 cm |
| November | −1.1°C | −9.6°C | −5.3°C | 19 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −7.2°C | −16.6°C | −11.9°C | 16 mm | 16 cm |
| Year | 7.5°C | −3.3°C | 2.1°C | 422 mm | 93 cm |
December varies most from one year to the next (4.2°C), June least
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. January spans the most, from −44.0°C (2004) to 16.3°C (2003).
Where Big Lakes County’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Slave Lake, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of 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 Big Lakes County’s climate
How warm does Big Lakes County get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 21.8°C.
How cold does Big Lakes County get in winter?
On a normal January night the air drops to −18.2°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Big Lakes County get?
July is the wettest month at 77 mm and March the driest at 13 mm, for 422 mm over the year.
Are these figures for Big Lakes County itself?
Not really: Slave Lake, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Big Lakes County.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Big Lakes County →
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).