Patterson is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
In January the night’s low is typically −13.5°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. Precipitation follows the seasons: June brings about 11 times as much as January. Have the furnace checked before October to May, the months that average under 10°C.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Calgary (Airport) station, 13 km north-east.
A year in Patterson at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Patterson’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Patterson feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
193 frost days and 87 days above 20°C a year
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
445 mm of precipitation in a typical year
On about 72 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
139 cm of snow in a typical year
The snow season runs September to May; March brings the most, about 24 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Patterson
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Patterson’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
A normal year gives the garden about 119 frost-free days, roughly 21 May to 18 September.
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 →The wind chill passes −20 on about 42 days in a normal year.
About 9 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Patterson’s 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 | 13 km north-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, 88 km |
How Patterson 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 Patterson whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 49–69 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Patterson.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patterson 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 55 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Wheatland County 66 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
Patterson 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 |
December: −38.2°C at its coldest, 19.5°C at its warmest
The month to count on least is February: one year in three its average strays more than 4.1°C from −5.9°C. June moves least, typically by 1.1°C.
Where Patterson’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: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- 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 Patterson’s climate
How warm does Patterson get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 23.5°C.
How cold does Patterson get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Patterson get?
Around 445 mm a year in all, from 113 mm in June down to 10 mm in January.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Patterson itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside Patterson.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Patterson →
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).