Less rain and snow fall on Riverbend than on 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year
Midsummer highs settle at about 23.5°C. Expect the most rain and snow in June and the least in January. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 80% of Canadian towns. Frost comes on about 193 days a year, so leave time to clear the car.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, 16 km north.
A year in Riverbend at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Riverbend’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Riverbend feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 193 frosts and 87 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. 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
Snowfall: about 139 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from September to May, most of all in March (about 24 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Riverbend
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
ECCC sums, over the year, how many degrees each day’s average falls short of 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Riverbend’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Plant out after about 21 May; the first frost of autumn usually arrives near 18 September, leaving roughly 119 days without frost.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →About 42 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
About 9 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Riverbend’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 | 16 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, 83 km |
How Riverbend 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Riverbend’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 55–72 km from Riverbend.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverbend Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Wheatland County 55 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 62 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Carstairs 65 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Nanton 72 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
Riverbend weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| 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
Year to year, February varies most (a standard deviation of 4.1°C around −5.9°C) and June least (1.1°C).
Where Riverbend’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Calgary (Airport), its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Riverbend’s climate
How warm does Riverbend get in summer?
Afternoons average 23.5°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Riverbend get in winter?
Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Riverbend get?
Rain and snow add up to about 445 mm of water a year; June brings the most (113 mm), January the least (10 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
On about 93 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Riverbend itself?
They are the normals for Calgary (Airport), measured just outside Riverbend itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Riverbend →
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).