Photo: Jason Woodhead · CC BY 2.0Bow Island sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 331 mm a year
On a normal January night the air cools to about −14.1°C. Its July heat outdoes that of 97% of Canadian towns. Of all months, June brings the most precipitation and February the least. Expect about 176 frosty starts a year, days when the air falls to freezing.
Every figure here comes from Medicine Hat, 50 km east; ECCC has no normals closer to Bow Island, so they describe the wider area.
A year in Bow Island at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Bow Island’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Bow Island feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 176 frosts and 121 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. On about 22 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 331 mm of rain and snow a year
473rd wettest of 479 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta. On about 57 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 85 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 17 cm in January, the snowiest month. 471st snowiest of 475 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Bow Island
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing.
Living with Bow Island’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 12 May to about 25 September, some 135 days in a normal year.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun.
Parks & trails →About 45 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
Plan shade and water for about 28 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Bow Island’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat is a composite: ECCC joins 4 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 50 km east |
| Station altitude | 717 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 40.4°C |
| Average wind | 13.1 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Vauxhall, 57 km |
How Bow Island 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 Bow Island’s would only repeat its figures. The nearest place to Bow Island with figures is 22 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bow Island Medicine Hat | 27.7°C | −14.1°C | 331 mm |
| Forty Mile County No. 8 22 km · Vauxhall | 26.8°C 0.9°C cooler | −14.1°C about the same | 331 mm |
Bow Island weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.9°C | −14.1°C | −8.5°C | 14 mm | 17 cm |
| February | −0.6°C | −12.2°C | −6.4°C | 10 mm | 10 cm |
| March | 5.9°C | −6.6°C | −0.3°C | 16 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13.5°C | −0.5°C | 6.6°C | 23 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19.2°C | 5.1°C | 12.1°C | 45 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 23.1°C | 9.7°C | 16.4°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27.7°C | 12.4°C | 20.1°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27.2°C | 11.5°C | 19.4°C | 34 mm | 1 cm |
| September | 21.3°C | 6.3°C | 13.8°C | 31 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 13.2°C | −0.2°C | 6.6°C | 20 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 4.6°C | −7.0°C | −1.2°C | 14 mm | 13 cm |
| December | −1.4°C | −12.4°C | −6.9°C | 12 mm | 12 cm |
| Year | 12.6°C | −0.7°C | 6.0°C | 331 mm | 85 cm |
March: −37.4°C at its coldest, 25.6°C at its warmest
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 5.1°C around its normal of −6.4°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.0°C.
Where Bow Island’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Medicine Hat, 1991–2020.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Bow Island’s climate
How warm does Bow Island get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 27.7°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Bow Island get in winter?
In January, the coldest month, the typical low is −14.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Bow Island get?
Some 331 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in June (76 mm), the least in February (10 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Count on about 78 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.
Are these figures for Bow Island itself?
Not really: Medicine Hat, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Bow Island.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Bow Island →
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).