Photo: Waynercook · Public domainRed Deer sits near the top of Canadian towns for frosts
The warmest part of a July day comes in at 22.9°C on average. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 92% of Canadian towns. From frozen January to warm July, readings climb 41°C. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 81 times a year.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Red Deer station, 12 km south-west.
A year in Red Deer at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Red Deer’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Red Deer feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
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
Rain and melted snow: about 483 mm a year
June brings the most rain and snow; February, the least.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 138 cm of snow a 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 Red Deer
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. Homes here need more heating than 84% of Canadian towns.
Living with Red Deer’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Count on about 112 frost-free days: the last frost averages 22 May, the first 12 September.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul.
Parks & trails →Wind chill falls below −20 on about 64 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 9 days a year.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Red Deer’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Red Deer
Red Deer is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 12 km south-west |
| 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 | Sundre, 82 km |
How Red Deer 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Red Deer’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 57–70 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Red Deer.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Deer | 22.9°C | −17.6°C | 483 mm |
| Olds 57 km · Sundre | 22.8°C about the same | −18.0°C about the same | 496 mm |
| Trochu 62 km · Drumheller East | 26.3°C 3.4°C warmer | −17.6°C about the same | 483 mm |
| Samson 137 64 km · Camrose | 23.1°C about the same | −17.8°C about the same | 378 mm |
Red Deer 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 | −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 |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 4.3°C; June the least
Over 1991–2020, March saw both −38.0°C (2002) and 24.8°C (2004), the widest span of any month.
Where Red Deer’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Red Deer, 1991–2020.
- 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, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Red Deer’s climate
How warm does Red Deer get in summer?
In July, the warmest month, the typical high is 22.9°C.
How cold does Red Deer get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −17.6°C.
How much rain and snow does Red Deer 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?
The ground is white, with 1 cm or more, on some 129 days a year.
Are these figures for Red Deer itself?
They are the normals for Red Deer, measured just outside Red Deer itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Red Deer →
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).