Dry weather: only 445 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Sundance, less than on 82% of Canadian towns
January mornings start at about −13.5°C. From frozen January to warm July, readings climb 37°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 80% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 72 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Read at Calgary (Airport), 25 km north: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Sundance at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Sundance’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Sundance feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
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
About 445 mm of rain and snow a year
June brings the most rain and snow; January, the least.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 139 cm of snow a 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 Sundance
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Sundance’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
From about 21 May to 18 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 119 days.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: 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.
Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Sundance’s hazards page does.
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 | 25 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, 81 km |
How Sundance 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
Places around Sundance whose figures come from another normals location. No closer places have figures: these lie 57–73 km from Sundance.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Wheatland County 57 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 64 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Nanton 64 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
| Carstairs 73 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
Sundance 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 |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 4.1°C; June the least
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than December, between −38.2°C (1996) and 19.5°C (1999).
Where Sundance’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Calgary (Airport), 1991–2020.
- 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: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Sundance’s climate
How warm does Sundance get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 23.5°C on a typical day.
How cold does Sundance get in winter?
Overnight lows average −13.5°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Sundance 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?
In a normal winter there are about 93 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.
Are these figures for Sundance itself?
They are the normals for Calgary (Airport), measured just outside Sundance itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Sundance →
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).