Photo: Mhalifu · CC BY-SA 3.0Peace River sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 384 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −20.1°C. Frost is common: about 206 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. Precipitation follows the seasons: June brings about 5.1 times as much as February. Have the furnace checked before September to April, the months that average under 10°C.
Read at Peace River, 10 km west: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Peace River at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Peace River’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Peace River feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 206 frosts and 79 warm days 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
Rain and melted snow: about 384 mm a year
On about 76 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
128 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 25 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 Peace River
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to April.
Behind the figure: the degrees each day’s mean falls under 18°C, summed for the year. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 98% of Canadian towns.
Living with Peace River’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
From about 21 May to 13 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 114 days.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 78 days a year.
Plan shade and water for about 6 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Peace River’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Peace River
Peace River is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 10 km west |
| Station altitude | 571 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| 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 | Red Earth, 129 km |
How Peace River 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
Places around Peace River whose figures come from another normals location. No closer places have figures: these lie 103–141 km from Peace River.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peace River | 22.7°C | −20.1°C | 384 mm |
| Big Lakes County 103 km · Slave Lake | 21.8°C 0.9°C cooler | −18.2°C 1.9°C milder | 422 mm |
| Valleyview 129 km · Grande Prairie | 22.7°C about the same | −19.4°C 0.7°C milder | 435 mm |
| Saddle Hills County 141 km · Dawson Creek | 22.5°C about the same | −19.4°C 0.7°C milder | 421 mm |
Peace River weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9.9°C | −20.1°C | −15.0°C | 23 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −6.2°C | −17.2°C | −11.7°C | 13 mm | 16 cm |
| March | −0.5°C | −11.9°C | −6.2°C | 15 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 9.4°C | −2.9°C | 3.3°C | 19 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 17.1°C | 3.3°C | 10.2°C | 40 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 20.7°C | 8.1°C | 14.5°C | 68 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 22.7°C | 9.9°C | 16.3°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 21.8°C | 8.2°C | 15.0°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.3°C | 3.3°C | 9.8°C | 40 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 8.4°C | −2.7°C | 2.9°C | 21 mm | 9 cm |
| November | −2.5°C | −11.6°C | −7.1°C | 20 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −8.2°C | −18.1°C | −13.2°C | 20 mm | 24 cm |
| Year | 7.4°C | −4.3°C | 1.6°C | 384 mm | 128 cm |
December strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 4.9°C; June the least
Over 1991–2020, April saw both −30.6°C (2020) and 28.4°C (2016), the widest span of any month.
Where Peace River’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Peace River, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- Not on this page: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Peace River’s climate
How warm does Peace River get in summer?
Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 22.7°C.
How cold does Peace River get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging −20.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Peace River get?
The yearly total is about 384 mm. June gets 68 mm, the most of any month; February gets 13 mm, the least.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Around 141 days a year see 1 cm of snow or more lying.
Are these figures for Peace River itself?
They are the normals for Peace River, measured just outside Peace River itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Peace River →
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).