Valley Ridge is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
January mornings start at about −13.5°C. Expect the most rain and snow in June and the least in January. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. The furnace earns its keep from October to May, the months that average under 10°C.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, 18 km east.
A year in Valley Ridge at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Valley Ridge’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Valley Ridge feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 193 frosts and 87 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. 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
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
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 Valley Ridge
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. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.
Living with Valley Ridge’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Frost usually lets go around 21 May and returns near 18 September, about 119 days apart.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 42 days a year.
About 9 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Valley Ridge’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 | 18 km 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, 82 km |
How Valley Ridge 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 Valley Ridge’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Valley Ridge with figures are 42–70 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Ridge Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 42 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
| Carstairs 53 km · Sundre | 22.8°C 0.7°C cooler | −18.0°C 4.5°C colder | 496 mm |
Valley Ridge 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 |
December has run from −38.2°C to 19.5°C in thirty years
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 4.1°C around its normal of −5.9°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.1°C.
Where Valley Ridge’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport) from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Valley Ridge’s climate
How warm does Valley Ridge get in summer?
In July, the warmest month, the typical high is 23.5°C.
How cold does Valley Ridge 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 Valley Ridge 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?
About 93 days a year count as snow-covered, with 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Valley Ridge itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Calgary (Airport) location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside Valley Ridge.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Valley Ridge →
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).