Precipitation in Palliser trails that of 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −13.5°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. June is the wettest month, January the driest. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from October to May, when means dip under 10°C.
Read at Calgary (Airport), 19 km north: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Palliser at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Palliser’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Palliser feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 193 frosts and 87 warm days 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
Rain and melted snow: about 445 mm a year
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
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 Palliser
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up. By this count, homes here need more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Palliser’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
A normal year gives the garden about 119 frost-free days, roughly 21 May to 18 September.
Plan time outside for Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →About 42 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
The humidex tops 30 on about 9 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Palliser’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 | 19 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, 89 km |
How Palliser 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 Palliser whose figures come from another normals location. Palliser has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 56–73 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palliser Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 56 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 |
| Carstairs 65 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Nanton 73 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
Palliser 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 most changeable month: February, give or take 4.1°C; the steadiest, June
Over 1991–2020, December saw both −38.2°C (1996) and 19.5°C (1999), the widest span of any month.
Where Palliser’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: 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: 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 Palliser’s climate
How warm does Palliser get in summer?
Highs reach 23.5°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Palliser get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Palliser 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?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Palliser itself?
They are the normals for Calgary (Airport), measured just outside Palliser itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Palliser →
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).