Special Area No. 3 sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 339 mm a year
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −17.9°C on average. About 200 nights a year bring a frost, more than in 90% of Canadian towns. Some 44°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. The heating season runs October to April: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Esther (49 km north-east).
A year in Special Area No. 3 at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Special Area No. 3’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. 3 feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 200 frosts and 108 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 38 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
339 mm of precipitation in a typical year
June brings the most rain and snow; December, the least. 472nd wettest of 479 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta. Some 66 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Esther publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Coronation, 85 km away.
Heating a home in Special Area No. 3
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 82% of Canadian towns.
Living with Special Area No. 3’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul and Aug: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 65 days a year here.
The humidex tops 30 on about 22 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Special Area No. 3’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Esther
Every temperature, frost, snow and degree-day figure on this page is the 1991–2020 normal ECCC publishes for Esther.
| Distance from the town | 49 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 707 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Coronation, 85 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −41.4°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.3°C |
| Average wind | 15.7 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Coronation, 85 km |
How Special Area No. 3 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Special Area No. 3’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Special Area No. 3 with figures are 57–107 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Area No. 3 Esther | 25.9°C | −17.9°C | 339 mm |
| Special Area No. 4 57 km · Coronation | 23.8°C 2.1°C cooler | −18.8°C 0.9°C colder | 339 mm |
| Hanna 82 km · Drumheller East | 26.3°C about the same | −17.6°C about the same | 339 mm |
| Kindersley No. 290 107 km · Kindersley | 25.0°C 0.9°C cooler | −19.1°C 1.2°C colder | 335 mm |
Special Area No. 3 weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6.9°C | −17.9°C | −12.4°C | 12 mm |
| February | −4.8°C | −16.3°C | −10.5°C | 9 mm |
| March | 1.8°C | −10.0°C | −4.1°C | 13 mm |
| April | 11.1°C | −2.8°C | 4.2°C | 25 mm |
| May | 18.3°C | 3.3°C | 10.8°C | 39 mm |
| June | 21.9°C | 8.3°C | 15.1°C | 69 mm |
| July | 25.9°C | 10.8°C | 18.4°C | 61 mm |
| August | 25.3°C | 9.6°C | 17.5°C | 43 mm |
| September | 19.8°C | 4.5°C | 12.2°C | 29 mm |
| October | 11.3°C | −2.1°C | 4.6°C | 17 mm |
| November | 1.4°C | −9.3°C | −3.8°C | 15 mm |
| December | −4.9°C | −15.6°C | −10.3°C | 9 mm |
| Year | 10.0°C | −3.1°C | 3.5°C | 339 mm |
A March here can run from −41.1°C to 26.5°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; December is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±4.7°C around −10.3°C), June the one that wanders least (±0.8°C).
Where Special Area No. 3’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Esther (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- Not on this page: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Special Area No. 3’s climate
How warm does Special Area No. 3 get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 25.9°C.
How cold does Special Area No. 3 get in winter?
Lows sink to −17.9°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Special Area No. 3 get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 339 mm a year; June leads with 69 mm and December trails with 9 mm.
Are these figures for Special Area No. 3 itself?
Yes, measured at Esther, which sits inside Special Area No. 3’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Special Area No. 3 →
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).