Photo: Tiado · CC BY-SA 3.0Dry weather: only 428 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Claresholm, less than on 86% of Canadian towns
In January the night’s low is typically −13.2°C. By frosts alone, it ranks colder than 75% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 38°C. Comfortable outdoor weather, highs of 25°C, belongs to July and August.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Claresholm station, 4.7 km south-west.
A year in Claresholm at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Claresholm’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Claresholm feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
191 frost days and 106 days above 20°C a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. On about 24 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
428 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in June, the least in January. On about 73 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 111 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs September to May; March brings the most, about 22 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Claresholm
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total.
Living with Claresholm’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
A normal year gives the garden about 110 frost-free days, roughly 25 May to 13 September.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jul and Aug, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 41 days in a normal year.
Count on some 17 humid days a year with the humidex past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Claresholm’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Claresholm
Claresholm is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 4.7 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 1,009 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −41.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 39.7°C |
| Average wind | 12.6 km/h on average, most often from the north |
| Next-nearest location | Pincher Creek, 64 km |
How Claresholm 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 Claresholm’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 42–57 km from Claresholm.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claresholm | 25.2°C | −13.2°C | 428 mm |
| Nobleford 42 km · Lethbridge | 26.3°C 1.1°C warmer | −12.1°C 1.1°C milder | 373 mm |
| Vulcan 48 km · Queenstown | 25.0°C about the same | −13.7°C 0.5°C colder | 412 mm |
| Piikani 147 54 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C 1.0°C cooler | −10.4°C 2.8°C milder | 550 mm |
Claresholm weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.4°C | −13.2°C | −6.4°C | 13 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 1.8°C | −12.0°C | −5.1°C | 15 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 5.9°C | −7.7°C | −0.9°C | 22 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 11.7°C | −2.3°C | 4.7°C | 33 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 17.3°C | 2.8°C | 10.1°C | 68 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 20.9°C | 7.0°C | 14.0°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.2°C | 9.3°C | 17.2°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.1°C | 8.3°C | 16.7°C | 43 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 20.0°C | 3.8°C | 11.9°C | 42 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 12.9°C | −1.7°C | 5.6°C | 20 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 5.4°C | −7.6°C | −1.1°C | 18 mm | 16 cm |
| December | 0.9°C | −12.5°C | −5.8°C | 16 mm | 15 cm |
| Year | 12.3°C | −2.2°C | 5.1°C | 428 mm | 111 cm |
February has run from −40.0°C to 24.0°C in thirty years
Year to year, February varies most (a standard deviation of 4.9°C around −5.1°C) and June least (0.9°C).
Where Claresholm’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Claresholm, 1991–2020.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- 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 Claresholm’s climate
How warm does Claresholm get in summer?
Highs reach 25.2°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Claresholm get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −13.2°C.
How much rain and snow does Claresholm get?
Rain and snow add up to about 428 mm of water a year; June brings the most (93 mm), January the least (13 mm).
Are these figures for Claresholm itself?
Nearly: Claresholm, the location behind them, sits just beyond Claresholm’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Claresholm →
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).