Dry weather: only 445 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Southwood, less than on 82% of Canadian towns
Sunny July days climb to about 23.5°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. A year here swings 37°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. 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, 19 km north.
A year in Southwood at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Southwood’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Southwood feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
193 frost days and 87 days above 20°C a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly 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
About 445 mm of rain and snow a year
The most falls in June, the least in January. On about 72 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
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 Southwood
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. A house here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Southwood’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Between the last frost, near 21 May, and the first, near 18 September, lie about 119 frost-free days.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 42 days a year.
Summer brings about 9 days when the humidex passes 30.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Southwood’s.
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, 87 km |
How Southwood 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Southwood’s own would show the same figures). Southwood has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 59–71 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwood Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 59 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Wheatland County 60 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Carstairs 67 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
| Nanton 71 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
Southwood 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 |
Two years in three, February’s average lands within 4.1°C of normal, against the steadier June
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than December, between −38.2°C (1996) and 19.5°C (1999).
Where Southwood’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Calgary (Airport) (the closest location with all twelve months of 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 Southwood’s climate
How warm does Southwood get in summer?
In July, the warmest month, the typical high is 23.5°C.
How cold does Southwood get in winter?
On a normal January night the air drops to −13.5°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Southwood get?
June is the wettest month at 113 mm and January the driest at 10 mm, for 445 mm over the year.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
The ground is white, with 1 cm or more, on some 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Southwood itself?
Close to it: they are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport), just outside Southwood’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Southwood →
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).