Photo: Mascdman · CC BY-SA 2.5Special Area No. 2 sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 339 mm a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −18.8°C. Frosty nights outnumber those of almost every Canadian town. Precipitation follows the seasons: June brings about 8.0 times as much as December. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 66 times a year.
The nearest ECCC normals location is Coronation, 56 km north: at that distance its figures describe the region more than Special Area No. 2 itself.
A year in Special Area No. 2 at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Special Area No. 2’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Special Area No. 2 feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 216 days, 20°C on 90
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. On about 42 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 339 mm of rain and snow a year
472nd wettest of 479 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Special Area No. 2
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
ECCC sums, over the year, how many degrees each day’s average falls short of 18°C. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 97% of Canadian towns.
Living with Special Area No. 2’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 76 days a year.
Expect around 11 sticky days a year with the humidex above 30.
Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Special Area No. 2’s hazards page does.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Coronation
ECCC builds the Coronation normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 56 km north |
| Station altitude | 791 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.9°C |
| Average wind | 15.1 km/h on average, most often from the north-west |
| Next-nearest location | Drumheller East, 76 km |
How Special Area No. 2 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 Special Area No. 2’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 24–78 km from Special Area No. 2.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Area No. 2 Coronation | 23.8°C | −18.8°C | 339 mm |
| Hanna 24 km · Drumheller East | 26.3°C 2.5°C warmer | −17.6°C 1.2°C milder | 339 mm |
| Special Area No. 3 58 km · Esther | 25.9°C 2.1°C warmer | −17.9°C 0.9°C milder | 339 mm |
Special Area No. 2 weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8.0°C | −18.8°C | −13.4°C | 12 mm |
| February | −6.0°C | −17.1°C | −11.6°C | 9 mm |
| March | −0.5°C | −11.2°C | −5.7°C | 13 mm |
| April | 9.6°C | −3.5°C | 3.0°C | 25 mm |
| May | 16.8°C | 2.2°C | 9.5°C | 39 mm |
| June | 20.4°C | 7.0°C | 13.7°C | 69 mm |
| July | 23.8°C | 9.3°C | 16.6°C | 61 mm |
| August | 23.4°C | 8.2°C | 15.8°C | 43 mm |
| September | 17.9°C | 2.7°C | 10.3°C | 29 mm |
| October | 9.7°C | −3.8°C | 3.0°C | 17 mm |
| November | −0.2°C | −10.7°C | −5.5°C | 15 mm |
| December | −6.6°C | −17.2°C | −11.9°C | 9 mm |
| Year | 8.4°C | −4.4°C | 2.0°C | 339 mm |
March has run from −39.8°C to 25.4°C in thirty years
Year to year, February varies most (a standard deviation of 4.4°C around −11.6°C) and June least (1.0°C).
Where Special Area No. 2’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Coronation from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Special Area No. 2’s climate
How warm does Special Area No. 2 get in summer?
Peak warmth comes in July, at about 23.8°C by mid-afternoon.
How cold does Special Area No. 2 get in winter?
Overnight lows average −18.8°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Special Area No. 2 get?
The yearly total is about 339 mm. June gets 69 mm, the most of any month; December gets 9 mm, the least.
Are these figures for Special Area No. 2 itself?
No: they come from Coronation, the nearest ECCC normals location, and far enough away to describe the wider area more than Special Area No. 2.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Special Area No. 2 →
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).