Dalhousie is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −13.5°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. Rain or snow is most frequent in June and least in January. Plan time outside for July and August, when highs sit at 23–24°C.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Calgary (Airport) station, 10 km east.
A year in Dalhousie at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Dalhousie’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Dalhousie feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 193 frosts and 87 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. Some 22 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
Rain and melted snow: about 445 mm a year
About 72 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 139 cm of snow a year
From September to May snow is likely; March is the peak, at about 24 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Dalhousie
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Dalhousie’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
A normal year gives the garden about 119 frost-free days, roughly 21 May to 18 September.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 42 days a year.
Roughly 9 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Dalhousie’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Calgary (Airport)
ECCC builds the Calgary (Airport) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 10 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, 83 km |
How Dalhousie compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Dalhousie’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Dalhousie with figures are 49–70 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalhousie Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 49 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Carstairs 50 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Wheatland County 65 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
Dalhousie 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 | −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 month with the widest range: December, −38.2°C to 19.5°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 4.1°C of the normal, −5.9°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.1°C.
Where Dalhousie’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Calgary (Airport), 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- 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, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Dalhousie’s climate
How warm does Dalhousie get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 23.5°C.
How cold does Dalhousie get in winter?
Lows sink to −13.5°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Dalhousie get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 445 mm; the range runs from 10 mm in January to 113 mm in June.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
About 93 days a year count as snow-covered, with 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Dalhousie itself?
Nearly: Calgary (Airport), the location behind them, sits just beyond Dalhousie’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Dalhousie →
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).