Photo: Glenlarson~commonswiki · Public domainHardly any Canadian towns wake to more frost than Bowden
Expect July afternoons of about 22.9°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 92% of Canadian towns. From frozen January to warm July, readings climb 41°C. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
These are not Bowden’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Red Deer, 30 km north.
A year in Bowden at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Bowden’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Bowden feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
212 frost days and 85 days above 20°C a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 34 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 483 mm of rain and snow a year
June is the wettest month and February the driest. Some 81 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 138 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs September to May; March brings the most, about 23 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Bowden
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 84% of Canadian towns.
Living with Bowden’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Frost usually lets go around 22 May and returns near 12 September, about 112 days apart.
Plan time outside for Jul: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Count on some 64 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
About 9 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for Bowden: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Red Deer
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Red Deer are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 30 km north |
| Station altitude | 905 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.3°C |
| Average wind | 11.0 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Sundre, 48 km |
How Bowden 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Bowden’s own would show the same figures). Bowden has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 16 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowden Red Deer | 22.9°C | −17.6°C | 483 mm |
| Olds 16 km · Sundre | 22.8°C about the same | −18.0°C about the same | 496 mm |
Bowden weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5.6°C | −17.6°C | −11.6°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −3.5°C | −16.1°C | −9.8°C | 12 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 1.3°C | −10.5°C | −4.6°C | 19 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 10.1°C | −3.0°C | 3.6°C | 28 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 16.8°C | 2.7°C | 9.7°C | 58 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 20.0°C | 7.4°C | 13.7°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.9°C | 9.4°C | 16.2°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.4°C | 7.9°C | 15.2°C | 70 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 17.8°C | 3.0°C | 10.4°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 10.4°C | −3.4°C | 3.5°C | 22 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 1.1°C | −10.5°C | −4.7°C | 17 mm | 20 cm |
| December | −4.4°C | −16.2°C | −10.3°C | 14 mm | 19 cm |
| Year | 9.1°C | −3.9°C | 2.6°C | 483 mm | 138 cm |
February varies most from one year to the next (4.3°C), June least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −38.0°C in 2002 and a high of 24.8°C in 2004.
Where Bowden’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Red Deer, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Bowden’s climate
How warm does Bowden get in summer?
Afternoons average 22.9°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Bowden get in winter?
Expect nights around −17.6°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Bowden get?
Measured as water, a year brings 483 mm: 98 mm in June, the wettest month, and 12 mm in February, the driest.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 129 days a year.
Are these figures for Bowden itself?
The figures are ECCC’s for Red Deer; Bowden has no normals station.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Bowden →
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).