Ponoka County is among the frostiest of Canadian towns
Expect July afternoons of about 22.9°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 92% of Canadian towns. June is the wettest month, February the driest. Have the furnace checked before October to May, the months that average under 10°C.
Ponoka County has no ECCC normals station nearby: the figures come from Red Deer, 52 km south, so read them as the wider area’s climate.
A year in Ponoka County at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Ponoka County’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Ponoka County feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 212 frosts and 85 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 34 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
483 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Some 81 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 138 cm in a normal year
From September to May snow is likely; March is the peak, at about 23 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Ponoka County
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. By this count, homes here need more heating than 84% of Canadian towns.
Living with Ponoka County’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Between the last frost, near 22 May, and the first, near 12 September, lie about 112 frost-free days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jul.
Parks & trails →About 64 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
Roughly 9 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Ponoka County’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Red Deer
ECCC builds the Red Deer normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 52 km south |
| Station altitude | 905 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.3°C |
| Average wind | 11.0 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Breton, 70 km |
How Ponoka 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.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Ponoka County’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 34–38 km from Ponoka County.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponoka County Red Deer | 22.9°C | −17.6°C | 483 mm |
| Wetaskiwin County No. 10 34 km · Breton | 23.1°C about the same | −15.2°C 2.4°C milder | 499 mm |
| Louis Bull 138B 35 km · Edmonton (Airport) | 23.0°C about the same | −18.1°C 0.5°C colder | 434 mm |
| Samson 137 37 km · Camrose | 23.1°C about the same | −17.8°C about the same | 378 mm |
Ponoka County weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5.6°C | −17.6°C | −11.6°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −3.5°C | −16.1°C | −9.8°C | 12 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 1.3°C | −10.5°C | −4.6°C | 19 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 10.1°C | −3.0°C | 3.6°C | 28 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 16.8°C | 2.7°C | 9.7°C | 58 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 20.0°C | 7.4°C | 13.7°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.9°C | 9.4°C | 16.2°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.4°C | 7.9°C | 15.2°C | 70 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 17.8°C | 3.0°C | 10.4°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 10.4°C | −3.4°C | 3.5°C | 22 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 1.1°C | −10.5°C | −4.7°C | 17 mm | 20 cm |
| December | −4.4°C | −16.2°C | −10.3°C | 14 mm | 19 cm |
| Year | 9.1°C | −3.9°C | 2.6°C | 483 mm | 138 cm |
Two years in three, February’s average lands within 4.3°C of normal, against the steadier June
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. March spans the most, from −38.0°C (2002) to 24.8°C (2004).
Where Ponoka County’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Red Deer, its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Ponoka County’s climate
How warm does Ponoka County get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 22.9°C.
How cold does Ponoka County get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −17.6°C.
How much rain and snow does Ponoka County get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 483 mm a year; June leads with 98 mm and February trails with 12 mm.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
On about 129 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Ponoka County itself?
No: they come from Red Deer, the nearest ECCC normals location, and far enough away to describe the wider area more than Ponoka County.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Ponoka 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).