Dry weather: only 423 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Sweet Grass, less than on 90% of Canadian towns
On a normal January night the air cools to about −14.7°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 80% of Canadian towns. The wettest month is July; the driest is February. Picnics, hikes and garden evenings come into their own from June to August, with highs of 21–24°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Edmonton (City) (12 km north).
A year in Sweet Grass at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Sweet Grass’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Sweet Grass feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 179 days, 20°C on 90
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost 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
423 mm of precipitation in a typical year
About 72 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 124 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from October to May, with about 26 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Sweet Grass
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
A heating degree day is one degree of shortfall below 18°C for one day, summed over the year. That means homes here need more heating than 76% of Canadian towns.
Living with Sweet Grass’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 7 May until frost returns near 25 September: about 141 days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 50 days in a normal year.
The air feels heavier than 30 on the humidex for about 11 days a year.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Sweet Grass’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Edmonton (City)
Edmonton (City) is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 12 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), 17 km |
How Sweet Grass 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 Sweet Grass’s own would show the same figures). No closer place has figures: this one lies 14 km from Sweet Grass.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Grass Edmonton (City) | 23.5°C | −14.7°C | 423 mm |
| Beaumont 14 km · Edmonton (Airport) | 23.0°C 0.5°C cooler | −18.1°C 3.4°C colder | 434 mm |
Sweet Grass weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| 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 |
Two years in three, February’s average lands within 4.2°C of normal, against the steadier June
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −34.0°C in 2003 and a high of 23.9°C in 2004.
Where Sweet Grass’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Edmonton (City), the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- 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: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Sweet Grass’s climate
How warm does Sweet Grass get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 23.5°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Sweet Grass get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −14.7°C.
How much rain and snow does Sweet Grass get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 423 mm a year; July leads with 83 mm and February trails with 12 mm.
Are these figures for Sweet Grass itself?
Close to it: they are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Edmonton (City), just outside Sweet Grass’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Sweet Grass →
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).