Hardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than Birch Hills County: 384 mm a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −20.1°C. From frozen January to warm July, readings climb 43°C. About 206 nights a year bring a frost, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. For walks and days out, the stretch from June to August brings highs of 21–23°C.
Every figure here comes from Peace River, 59 km north-east; ECCC has no normals closer to Birch Hills County, so they describe the wider area.
A year in Birch Hills County at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Birch Hills County’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Birch Hills County feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
206 frost days and 79 days above 20°C a year
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. Some 45 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
About 384 mm of rain and snow a year
The most falls in June, the least in February. About 76 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 128 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs September to May; January brings the most, about 25 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Birch Hills County
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. Homes here need more heating than 98% of Canadian towns.
Living with Birch Hills County’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Count on about 114 frost-free days: the last frost averages 21 May, the first 13 September.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 78 days a year here.
About 6 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Birch Hills County’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Peace River
ECCC builds the Peace River normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 59 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 571 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 33.5°C |
| Average wind | 11.9 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Grande Prairie, 89 km |
How Birch Hills County compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Birch Hills County’s would only repeat its figures. Birch Hills County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 70–94 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birch Hills County Peace River | 22.7°C | −20.1°C | 384 mm |
| Sexsmith 70 km · Grande Prairie | 22.7°C about the same | −19.4°C 0.7°C milder | 435 mm |
| Saddle Hills County 94 km · Dawson Creek | 22.5°C about the same | −19.4°C 0.7°C milder | 421 mm |
Birch Hills County weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9.9°C | −20.1°C | −15.0°C | 23 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −6.2°C | −17.2°C | −11.7°C | 13 mm | 16 cm |
| March | −0.5°C | −11.9°C | −6.2°C | 15 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 9.4°C | −2.9°C | 3.3°C | 19 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 17.1°C | 3.3°C | 10.2°C | 40 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 20.7°C | 8.1°C | 14.5°C | 68 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 22.7°C | 9.9°C | 16.3°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 21.8°C | 8.2°C | 15.0°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.3°C | 3.3°C | 9.8°C | 40 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 8.4°C | −2.7°C | 2.9°C | 21 mm | 9 cm |
| November | −2.5°C | −11.6°C | −7.1°C | 20 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −8.2°C | −18.1°C | −13.2°C | 20 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 7.4°C | −4.3°C | 1.6°C | 384 mm | 128 cm |
April: −30.6°C at its coldest, 28.4°C at its warmest
Year to year, December varies most (a standard deviation of 4.9°C around −13.2°C) and June least (0.8°C).
Where Birch Hills County’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Peace River, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- 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 Birch Hills County’s climate
How warm does Birch Hills County get in summer?
Peak warmth comes in July, at about 22.7°C by mid-afternoon.
How cold does Birch Hills County get in winter?
A typical January night falls to −20.1°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Birch Hills County get?
The yearly total is about 384 mm. June gets 68 mm, the most of any month; February gets 13 mm, the least.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
In a normal winter there are about 141 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.
Are these figures for Birch Hills County itself?
They are the figures for Peace River, which read better as the region’s climate than Birch Hills County’s own.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Birch Hills 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).