Precipitation in Dover trails that of 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −13.5°C. Temperatures cover 37°C across the year, low to high. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport) (11 km north).
A year in Dover at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Dover’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Dover feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 193 days, 20°C on 87
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. 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
Rain and melted snow: about 445 mm a 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
139 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 24 cm in March, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Dover
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Degree days add up how far each day’s mean temperature falls below 18°C over a year. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Dover’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
The growing season between frosts lasts about 119 days, roughly 21 May to 18 September.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 42 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
Expect around 9 sticky days a year with the humidex above 30.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Dover’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 | 11 km north |
| 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 | Queenstown, 84 km |
How Dover 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
Places around Dover whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest places to Dover with figures are 52–71 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Wheatland County 52 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Carstairs 60 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 63 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
Dover 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 |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 4.1°C; the steadiest month is June
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; December’s run from −38.2°C in 1996 to 19.5°C in 1999.
Where Dover’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Calgary (Airport), the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Dover’s climate
How warm does Dover get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 23.5°C.
How cold does Dover get in winter?
Deep winter means January, when nights average −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Dover get?
The yearly total is about 445 mm. June gets 113 mm, the most of any month; January gets 10 mm, the least.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Dover itself?
Nearly: Calgary (Airport), the location behind them, sits just beyond Dover’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Dover →
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).