Hardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than Special Area No. 4: 339 mm a year
July afternoons average 23.8°C. June is the wettest month here, with about 8.0 times the rain and snow of December. About 216 nights a year bring a frost, more than in almost every Canadian town. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
ECCC publishes no normals for Special Area No. 4 itself; the figures are those of Coronation, 42 km west.
A year in Special Area No. 4 at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Special Area No. 4’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. 4 feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
216 frost days and 90 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 42 nights a year.
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. Some 66 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Special Area No. 4
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 97% of Canadian towns.
Living with Special Area No. 4’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Roughly 76 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
The humidex tops 30 on about 11 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Special Area No. 4’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Coronation
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Coronation are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 42 km west |
| 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 | Esther, 55 km |
How Special Area No. 4 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 Special Area No. 4’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 57–79 km from Special Area No. 4.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Area No. 4 Coronation | 23.8°C | −18.8°C | 339 mm |
| Special Area No. 3 57 km · Esther | 25.9°C 2.1°C warmer | −17.9°C 0.9°C milder | 339 mm |
| Hanna 79 km · Drumheller East | 26.3°C 2.5°C warmer | −17.6°C 1.2°C milder | 339 mm |
Special Area No. 4 weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| 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 |
A March here can run from −39.8°C to 25.4°C
Two years in three, February’s average falls within 4.4°C of its normal of −11.6°C; June keeps to within 1.0°C.
Where Special Area No. 4’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Coronation, its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: a snowfall figure (none within 100 km), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Special Area No. 4’s climate
How warm does Special Area No. 4 get in summer?
Highs reach 23.8°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Special Area No. 4 get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −18.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Special Area No. 4 get?
Precipitation totals 339 mm a year, with June the wettest month (69 mm) and December the driest (9 mm).
Are these figures for Special Area No. 4 itself?
Not as such: Coronation is the nearest normals location, and Special Area No. 4 has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Special Area No. 4 →
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).