Hardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than High Prairie: 384 mm a year
Expect July afternoons of about 22.7°C. About 206 nights a year bring a frost, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. Some 43°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 206 days a year at 0°C or below.
Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for High Prairie come from Peace River, 107 km north-west, so take them as the area’s climate.
A year in High Prairie at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about High Prairie’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in High Prairie feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
206 frost days and 79 days above 20°C a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 45 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
384 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in June, the least in February. On about 76 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in High Prairie
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to April.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. A house here needs more heating than 98% of Canadian towns.
Living with High Prairie’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Frost usually lets go around 21 May and returns near 13 September, about 114 days apart.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 78 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 6 days a year.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for High Prairie: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Peace River
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Peace River are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 107 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 571 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 33.5°C |
| Average wind | 11.9 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Slave Lake, 109 km |
How High Prairie 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
Places around High Prairie whose figures come from another normals location. High Prairie has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 22–76 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Prairie Peace River | 22.7°C | −20.1°C | 384 mm |
| Big Lakes County 22 km · Slave Lake | 21.8°C 0.9°C cooler | −18.2°C 1.9°C milder | 422 mm |
| Valleyview 65 km · Grande Prairie | 22.7°C about the same | −19.4°C 0.7°C milder | 435 mm |
High Prairie weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9.9°C | −20.1°C | −15.0°C | 23 mm |
| February | −6.2°C | −17.2°C | −11.7°C | 13 mm |
| March | −0.5°C | −11.9°C | −6.2°C | 15 mm |
| April | 9.4°C | −2.9°C | 3.3°C | 19 mm |
| May | 17.1°C | 3.3°C | 10.2°C | 40 mm |
| June | 20.7°C | 8.1°C | 14.5°C | 68 mm |
| July | 22.7°C | 9.9°C | 16.3°C | 62 mm |
| August | 21.8°C | 8.2°C | 15.0°C | 43 mm |
| September | 16.3°C | 3.3°C | 9.8°C | 40 mm |
| October | 8.4°C | −2.7°C | 2.9°C | 21 mm |
| November | −2.5°C | −11.6°C | −7.1°C | 20 mm |
| December | −8.2°C | −18.1°C | −13.2°C | 20 mm |
| Year | 7.4°C | −4.3°C | 1.6°C | 384 mm |
Two years in three, December’s average lands within 4.9°C of normal, against the steadier June
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than April, between −30.6°C (2020) and 28.4°C (2016).
Where High Prairie’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Peace River from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- 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: snow, with no complete snowfall normals within 100 km, sunshine, which ECCC published for no location, and any height adjustment.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about High Prairie’s climate
How warm does High Prairie get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 22.7°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does High Prairie get in winter?
Expect nights around −20.1°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does High Prairie get?
A normal year brings 384 mm, snow included as water: June is wettest at 68 mm, February driest at 13 mm.
Are these figures for High Prairie itself?
They are the figures for Peace River, which read better as the region’s climate than High Prairie’s own.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for High 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).