Photo: Kay Röllig · CC BY 3.0

Climate in Foothills County · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Precipitation in Foothills County trails that of 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm a year

In January the night’s low is typically −13.5°C. June is the wettest month, January the driest. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 80% of Canadian towns. Homes need heating from October to May, the months averaging under 10°C.

July afternoons: cooler than 80% of Canadian towns

January nights: milder than 51% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year: drier than 82% of Canadian towns

These are not Foothills County’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Calgary (Airport), 39 km north.

July high

23.5°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−13.5°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

445 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

139 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

193

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

119

21 May to 18 Sep

A year in Foothills County at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−2°C−14°CColdest nights

Feb0°C−12°C

Mar4°C−8°CSnowiest

Apr11°C−2°C

May16°C3°CLast frost ~21 May

Jun20°C8°CWettest

Jul24°C10°CWarmest

Aug23°C9°C

Sep18°C5°CFirst frost ~18 Sep

Oct11°C−1°C

Nov now4°C−8°C

Dec0°C−12°C

What stands out about Foothills County’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.

Drier than 82% of Canadian townsAbout 445 mm of rain and melted snow a year; June is the wettest month and January the driest.Cooler than 80% of Canadian townsJuly afternoons average 23.5°C, the warmest of the year.

A normal year

What a year in Foothills County feels like

Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.

Winter

−1°C / −12°C

34 mm, with 50 cm of snow

Spring

10°C / −2°C

108 mm, with 56 cm of snow

Summer

22°C / 9°C

232 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

11°C / −1°C

71 mm, with 33 cm of snow

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

−2°C−14°C

0°C−12°C

4°C−8°C

11°C−2°C

16°C3°C

20°C8°C

24°C10°C

23°C9°C

18°C5°C

11°C−1°C

4°C−8°C

0°C−12°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJulAugHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

193 frost days and 87 days above 20°C a year

Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. Some 22 nights a year drop under −20°C.

119 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

21 May 18 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

193

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 79% of Canadian towns

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

About 445 mm of rain and snow a year

About 72 days a year bring 1 mm or more.

445 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 82% of Canadian towns

342 mm

Of it as rain alone (77%)

113 mm

June, the wettest month

10 mm

January, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

113 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

113 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

About 139 cm of snow a year

Expect snow from September to May, with about 24 cm in March, the snowiest month.

139 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than 54% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

Days a year with 1 cm or more on the ground

6 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of December, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

24 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

6 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Foothills County

85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.

4,994 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,448 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. A house here needs more heating than 68% of Canadian towns.

Living here

Living with Foothills County’s climate

Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.

The garden window

On average the last spring frost comes around 21 May and the first autumn frost around 18 September: about 119 frost-free days between.

Get outside

For long days outdoors, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Wind chill falls below −20 on about 42 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.

Humidex

Summer brings about 9 days when the humidex passes 30.

Storms and extremes

A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Foothills County’s hazards page looks at those.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Calgary (Airport)

Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport) are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.

Distance from the town	39 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, 74 km

Compared with other towns

How Foothills County 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.

July afternoons23.5°C

Foothills CountyMedian Canadian town

20°C22°C24°C26°C28°C

Cooler than 80% of Canadian towns

January nights−13.5°C

Foothills CountyMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Milder than 51% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year445 mm

Foothills CountyMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than 82% of Canadian towns

Snowfall a year139 cm

Foothills CountyMedian Canadian town

0100200300

Less snowy than 54% of Canadian towns

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Foothills County’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 50–71 km from Foothills County.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Foothills County Calgary (Airport)	23.5°C	−13.5°C	445 mm
Nanton 50 km · Claresholm	25.2°C 1.7°C warmer	−13.2°C about the same	428 mm
Wheatland County 60 km · Queenstown	25.0°C 1.5°C warmer	−13.7°C about the same	412 mm

Month by month

Foothills County 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	−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

Year to year

From −38.2°C to 19.5°C: December’s coldest and warmest days since 1991

The month to count on least is February: one year in three its average strays more than 4.1°C from −5.9°C. June moves least, typically by 1.1°C.

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Foothills County’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: ECCC’s normals for Calgary (Airport), 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
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 Foothills County’s climate

How warm does Foothills County get in summer?

July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23.5°C.

How cold does Foothills County get in winter?

A typical January night falls to −13.5°C, the year’s low point.

How much rain and snow does Foothills County get?

Rain and snow add up to about 445 mm of water a year; June brings the most (113 mm), January the least (10 mm).

How long does snow stay on the ground?

In a normal winter there are about 93 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.

Are these figures for Foothills County itself?

They come from Calgary (Airport), which ECCC uses as the nearest normals location for Foothills County.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Foothills County →

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).