Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainCardston gets more frosts than 88% of Canadian towns
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 24.0°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 70% of Canadian towns. Winter and summer sit 35°C apart. Heating does most of its work from October to May, in months below 10°C on average.
ECCC publishes no normals for Cardston itself; the figures are those of Carway, 22 km south.
A year in Cardston at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cardston’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Cardston feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 194 frosts and 80 warm days a year
Frost comes from September to June; in December almost every night freezes. On about 19 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
About 534 mm of rain and snow a year
June is the wettest month and January the driest. 4th wettest of 478 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta. About 65 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 257 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from August to June, most of all in April (about 55 cm). 3rd snowiest of 474 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Cardston
83% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total. That means homes here need more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Cardston’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jul.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Cardston’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Carway
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Carway are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 22 km south |
| Station altitude | 1,354 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −38.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | Lethbridge, 61 km |
How Cardston 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 Cardston’s own would show the same figures). Cardston has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 41–59 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston Carway | 24.0°C | −10.9°C | 534 mm |
| Magrath 41 km · Lethbridge | 26.3°C 2.3°C warmer | −12.1°C 1.2°C colder | 373 mm |
| Piikani 147 50 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C about the same | −10.4°C 0.5°C milder | 550 mm |
| Fort Macleod 59 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C 1.2°C warmer | −13.2°C 2.3°C colder | 428 mm |
Cardston weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.9°C | −10.9°C | −5.0°C | 22 mm | 26 cm |
| February | 0.9°C | −10.8°C | −5.1°C | 29 mm | 29 cm |
| March | 4.5°C | −7.0°C | −1.2°C | 36 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 9.4°C | −2.4°C | 3.5°C | 59 mm | 55 cm |
| May | 14.8°C | 2.2°C | 8.6°C | 78 mm | 20 cm |
| June | 18.7°C | 6.0°C | 12.3°C | 108 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 24.0°C | 8.5°C | 16.3°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.7°C | 7.8°C | 15.8°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| September | 18.2°C | 4.0°C | 11.1°C | 45 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 11.0°C | −1.4°C | 4.8°C | 30 mm | 24 cm |
| November | 4.7°C | −6.2°C | −0.8°C | 31 mm | 32 cm |
| December | 0.4°C | −10.4°C | −5.1°C | 25 mm | 28 cm |
| Year | 10.9°C | −1.7°C | 4.6°C | 534 mm | 257 cm |
The most changeable month: February, give or take 4.3°C; the steadiest, June
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than December, between −37.0°C (1992) and 21.0°C (2008).
Where Cardston’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Carway, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cardston’s climate
How warm does Cardston get in summer?
In July, the warmest month, the typical high is 24.0°C.
How cold does Cardston get in winter?
Lows sink to −10.9°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Cardston get?
Precipitation totals 534 mm a year, with June the wettest month (108 mm) and January the driest (22 mm).
Are these figures for Cardston itself?
The figures are ECCC’s for Carway; Cardston has no normals station.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cardston →
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).