Photo: Grant Berg · CC BY-SA 3.0Summer arrives softly in Grande Prairie, cooler than in 94% of Canadian towns
On a normal January night the air cools to about −19.4°C. Precipitation peaks in July and eases off in February. By frosts alone, it ranks colder than 91% of Canadian towns. Heating does most of its work from October to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Grande Prairie (6.5 km west).
A year in Grande Prairie at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Grande Prairie’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Grande Prairie feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 202 frosts and 80 warm days a year
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 43 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 435 mm of rain and snow a year
About 87 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 162 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs September to May; January brings the most, about 34 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Grande Prairie
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. Homes here need more heating than 96% of Canadian towns.
Living with Grande Prairie’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
From about 21 May to 10 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 111 days.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 67 days a year here.
About 5 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Grande Prairie’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 6.5 km west |
| Station altitude | 669 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −47.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.6°C |
| Average wind | 11.9 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Dawson Creek, 108 km |
How Grande Prairie 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
Places around Grande Prairie whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 87–111 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Grande Prairie.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grande Prairie | 22.7°C | −19.4°C | 435 mm |
| Birch Hills County 87 km · Peace River | 22.7°C about the same | −20.1°C 0.7°C colder | 384 mm |
| Saddle Hills County 98 km · Dawson Creek | 22.5°C about the same | −19.4°C about the same | 421 mm |
Grande Prairie weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8.3°C | −19.4°C | −13.9°C | 28 mm | 34 cm |
| February | −4.6°C | −16.3°C | −10.5°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| March | −0.1°C | −11.5°C | −5.8°C | 18 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 9.9°C | −2.3°C | 3.8°C | 22 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 17.0°C | 3.4°C | 10.3°C | 42 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 20.6°C | 8.0°C | 14.3°C | 72 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 22.7°C | 9.9°C | 16.3°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.0°C | 8.4°C | 15.2°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.3°C | 3.8°C | 10.5°C | 37 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 9.1°C | −2.4°C | 3.3°C | 30 mm | 15 cm |
| November | −0.9°C | −10.7°C | −5.9°C | 29 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −6.4°C | −17.0°C | −11.7°C | 19 mm | 25 cm |
| Year | 8.2°C | −3.9°C | 2.2°C | 435 mm | 162 cm |
From −47.1°C to 15.2°C: January’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
From one year to the next, December’s average typically shifts by 5.0°C around its normal of −11.7°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 0.9°C.
Where Grande Prairie’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Grande Prairie: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 Grande Prairie’s climate
How warm does Grande Prairie get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 22.7°C.
How cold does Grande Prairie get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging −19.4°C.
How much rain and snow does Grande Prairie get?
July is the wettest month at 73 mm and February the driest at 16 mm, for 435 mm over the year.
Are these figures for Grande Prairie itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Grande Prairie itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Grande Prairie →
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).