Walden is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
January nights here settle around −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. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 72 days a year with 1 mm or more.
Borrowed figures: Walden has no normals station, so these come from Calgary (Airport), 28 km north.
A year in Walden at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Walden’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Walden 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. 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
Rain and melted snow: about 445 mm a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
139 cm of snow in a typical 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 Walden
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 Walden’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.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Count on some 42 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 9 days a year.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Walden’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 | 28 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, 80 km |
How Walden 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Walden’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Walden with figures are 58–75 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walden Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C | −13.5°C | 445 mm |
| Wheatland County 58 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C 1.5°C warmer | −13.7°C about the same | 412 mm |
| Nanton 61 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.7°C warmer | −13.2°C about the same | 428 mm |
| Stoney 142, 143, 144 66 km · Banff | 22.5°C 1.0°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 454 mm |
Walden 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 |
In December, anything from −38.2°C to 19.5°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 4.1°C of the normal, −5.9°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.1°C.
Where Walden’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Calgary (Airport), the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- 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 Walden’s climate
How warm does Walden get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 23.5°C.
How cold does Walden get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Walden get?
Precipitation totals 445 mm a year, with June the wettest month (113 mm) and January the driest (10 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 93 days a year.
Are these figures for Walden itself?
They are the closest available: the normals for Calgary (Airport), since Walden has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Walden →
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).