Precipitation in McKenzie Lake trails that of 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year
January mornings start at about −13.5°C. Of all months, June brings the most precipitation and January the least. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 72 times a year.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, 23 km north.
A year in McKenzie Lake at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about McKenzie Lake’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in McKenzie Lake feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 193 days, 20°C on 87
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. 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
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 139 cm in a normal 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 McKenzie Lake
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 McKenzie Lake’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.
For long days outdoors, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Expect around 42 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
Count on some 9 humid days a year with the humidex past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on McKenzie Lake’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Calgary (Airport)
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport) are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 23 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, 79 km |
How McKenzie Lake compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share McKenzie Lake’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 53–71 km from McKenzie Lake.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKenzie Lake Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Wheatland County 53 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Nanton 65 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 67 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Carstairs 71 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
McKenzie Lake 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 |
From −38.2°C to 19.5°C: December’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 4.1°C around its normal of −5.9°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.1°C.
Where McKenzie Lake’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Calgary (Airport): the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- Not on this page: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about McKenzie Lake’s climate
How warm does McKenzie Lake get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 23.5°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does McKenzie Lake get in winter?
Deep winter means January, when nights average −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does McKenzie Lake get?
The year adds up to 445 mm. June is the peak month (113 mm) and January the low one (10 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Snow covers the ground, 1 cm or more, on about 93 days a year.
Are these figures for McKenzie Lake itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside McKenzie Lake.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for McKenzie Lake →
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).