Less rain and snow fall on McKernan than on 90% of Canadian towns: 423 mm a year
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −14.7°C on average. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. Temperatures cover 38°C across the year, low to high. Windshields need scraping on about 179 mornings a year, the days the air reaches 0°C or below.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Edmonton (City) (6.6 km north).
A year in McKernan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about McKernan’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in McKernan feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 179 frosts and 90 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and January 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
Rain and melted snow: about 423 mm a year
July brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. 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
124 cm of snow in a typical year
The snow season runs October to May; January brings the most, about 26 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in McKernan
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 76% of Canadian towns.
Living with McKernan’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 7 May to about 25 September, some 141 days in a normal year.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 50 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
On some 11 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for McKernan: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Edmonton (City)
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Edmonton (City) are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 6.6 km north |
| Station altitude | 671 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −37.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.9°C |
| Average wind | 12.2 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Edmonton (Airport), 22 km |
How McKernan 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 McKernan’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to McKernan with figures are 19–28 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKernan Edmonton (City) | 23.5°C | −14.7°C | 423 mm |
| Beaumont 19 km · Edmonton (Airport) | 23.0°C 0.5°C cooler | −18.1°C 3.4°C colder | 434 mm |
| Fort Saskatchewan 27 km · Fort Saskatchewan | 23.6°C about the same | −17.8°C 3.1°C colder | 473 mm |
McKernan weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5.8°C | −14.7°C | −10.3°C | 20 mm | 26 cm |
| February | −3.0°C | −12.7°C | −7.9°C | 12 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 1.7°C | −7.8°C | −3.1°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 10.4°C | −0.7°C | 4.9°C | 29 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 17.5°C | 5.6°C | 11.6°C | 44 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 21.0°C | 10.2°C | 15.6°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.5°C | 12.6°C | 18.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.6°C | 11.3°C | 17.0°C | 61 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 17.6°C | 6.2°C | 11.9°C | 39 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 10.0°C | −0.1°C | 5.0°C | 21 mm | 11 cm |
| November | 0.6°C | −7.5°C | −3.5°C | 18 mm | 20 cm |
| December | −4.7°C | −13.2°C | −9.0°C | 12 mm | 15 cm |
| Year | 9.3°C | −0.9°C | 4.2°C | 423 mm | 124 cm |
The month with the widest range: March, −34.0°C to 23.9°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 4.2°C of the normal, −7.9°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.0°C.
Where McKernan’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Edmonton (City), the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 McKernan’s climate
How warm does McKernan get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 23.5°C.
How cold does McKernan get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −14.7°C.
How much rain and snow does McKernan get?
423 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is July (83 mm); the driest, February (12 mm).
Are these figures for McKernan itself?
Almost: ECCC’s Edmonton (City) location, which gives these figures, lies a short way outside McKernan.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for McKernan →
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).