Photo: R. Sieben · CC BY 3.0Dry weather: only 412 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Vulcan, less than on 94% of Canadian towns
In July the day’s top temperature is typically 25.0°C. Temperatures cover 39°C across the year, low to high. Frost is common: about 197 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 73 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
These are not Vulcan’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Queenstown, 31 km north-east.
A year in Vulcan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Vulcan’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Vulcan feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
197 frost days and 102 days above 20°C a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. Some 24 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
412 mm of precipitation in a typical year
June is the wettest month and February the driest.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 105 cm of snow a year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 18 cm in March, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Vulcan
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. A house here needs more heating than 61% of Canadian towns.
Living with Vulcan’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Wait until about 19 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 20 September, about 123 days later.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Extremes don’t show in averages: floods, wildfire smoke and ice storms are on Vulcan’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Queenstown
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Queenstown, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 31 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 940 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 39.5°C |
| Next-nearest location | Claresholm, 52 km |
How Vulcan compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Vulcan’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Vulcan with figures are 37–48 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Queenstown | 25.0°C | −13.7°C | 412 mm |
| Nanton 37 km · Claresholm | 25.2°C about the same | −13.2°C 0.5°C milder | 428 mm |
| High River 47 km · Calgary (Airport) | 23.5°C 1.5°C cooler | −13.5°C about the same | 445 mm |
Vulcan weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.9°C | −13.7°C | −7.8°C | 14 mm | 14 cm |
| February | −0.5°C | −12.5°C | −6.5°C | 14 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 4.5°C | −8.1°C | −1.8°C | 19 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 11.6°C | −2.2°C | 4.7°C | 33 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 17.4°C | 3.4°C | 10.5°C | 62 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 21.1°C | 8.0°C | 14.6°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.0°C | 10.5°C | 17.8°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.6°C | 9.5°C | 17.1°C | 50 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 19.5°C | 4.6°C | 12.1°C | 33 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 12.3°C | −1.7°C | 5.3°C | 18 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 4.1°C | −7.8°C | −1.8°C | 18 mm | 15 cm |
| December | −0.7°C | −12.4°C | −6.7°C | 15 mm | 14 cm |
| Year | 11.4°C | −1.9°C | 4.8°C | 412 mm | 105 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 5.0°C; June the least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −35.5°C in 2014 and a high of 26.0°C in 2004.
Where Vulcan’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Queenstown, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- 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: 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 Vulcan’s climate
How warm does Vulcan get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.0°C.
How cold does Vulcan get in winter?
Overnight lows average −13.7°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Vulcan get?
Some 412 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in June (82 mm), the least in February (14 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
In a normal winter there are about 4 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.
Are these figures for Vulcan itself?
They are borrowed from Queenstown, the nearest place to Vulcan where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Vulcan →
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).