Less rain and snow fall on Cougar Ridge than on 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 23.5°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 37°C. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 193 days a year at 0°C or below.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Calgary (Airport) station, 15 km east.
A year in Cougar Ridge at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cougar Ridge’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Cougar Ridge feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 193 days, 20°C on 87
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 22 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
445 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in June, the least in January. Some 72 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 139 cm in a normal 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 Cougar Ridge
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Warm days count for nothing; each colder day adds how far its mean sits below 18°C. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Cougar Ridge’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Frost usually lets go around 21 May and returns near 18 September, about 119 days apart.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jul and Aug, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 42 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 9 days a year.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for Cougar Ridge: the hazards page.
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 | 15 km 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, 85 km |
How Cougar Ridge 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 Cougar Ridge’s would only repeat its figures. Cougar Ridge has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 46–69 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cougar Ridge Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 46 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Carstairs 54 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Wheatland County 69 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
Cougar Ridge 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 | −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 |
A December here can run from −38.2°C to 19.5°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; February is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±4.1°C around −5.9°C), June the one that wanders least (±1.1°C).
Where Cougar Ridge’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Calgary (Airport), its nearest location with complete 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: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cougar Ridge’s climate
How warm does Cougar Ridge get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 23.5°C.
How cold does Cougar Ridge get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Cougar Ridge 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?
On about 93 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Cougar Ridge itself?
Nearly: Calgary (Airport), the location behind them, sits just beyond Cougar Ridge’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cougar Ridge →
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).