Capitol Hill is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −13.5°C on average. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 37°C apart. Comfortable outdoor weather, highs of 23–24°C, belongs to July and August.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Calgary (Airport) station, 8.1 km north-east.
A year in Capitol Hill at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Capitol Hill’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Capitol Hill feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
193 frost days and 87 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. 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 445 mm of rain and snow a year
June brings the most rain and snow; January, the least. On about 72 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 139 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from September to May, most of all in March (about 24 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Capitol Hill
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. A house here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Capitol Hill’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Wait until about 21 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 18 September, about 119 days later.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 42 days in a normal year.
Humid summer days, the humidex above 30, number about 9 a year.
Thirty-year normals hide the storms and the extremes: the hazards page has Capitol Hill’s risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Calgary (Airport)
Calgary (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 8.1 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 1,099 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.7°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Average wind | 13.8 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Sundre, 88 km |
How Capitol Hill 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
Places around Capitol Hill whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 54–74 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Capitol Hill.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Hill Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Carstairs 54 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 54 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Wheatland County 61 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
Capitol Hill weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.5°C | −13.5°C | −7.6°C | 10 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 0.1°C | −11.8°C | −5.9°C | 12 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 3.8°C | −8.1°C | −2.2°C | 18 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 10.8°C | −1.9°C | 4.5°C | 30 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 16.4°C | 3.4°C | 9.9°C | 61 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 19.7°C | 7.7°C | 13.7°C | 113 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 23.5°C | 10.2°C | 16.9°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.1°C | 9.2°C | 16.2°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.3°C | 4.7°C | 11.5°C | 37 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 11.1°C | −1.3°C | 4.9°C | 17 mm | 12 cm |
| November | 4.1°C | −7.5°C | −1.7°C | 16 mm | 19 cm |
| December | −0.4°C | −12.1°C | −6.3°C | 13 mm | 16 cm |
| Year | 10.8°C | −1.8°C | 4.5°C | 445 mm | 139 cm |
The most changeable month: February, give or take 4.1°C; the steadiest, June
December has the widest record range, −38.2°C in 1996 to 19.5°C in 1999; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Capitol Hill’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Calgary (Airport), 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: 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 Capitol Hill’s climate
How warm does Capitol Hill get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 23.5°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Capitol Hill get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Capitol Hill get?
Count on roughly 445 mm a year, heaviest in June (113 mm) and lightest in January (10 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Capitol Hill itself?
They are the normals for Calgary (Airport), measured just outside Capitol Hill itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Capitol Hill →
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).