Photo: Kiyoteru Awaji · CC BY 4.0Hardly any Canadian towns see more snow than Clearwater, with about 416 cm a year
Midsummer highs settle at about 24.6°C. Frosty nights outnumber those of 88% of Canadian towns. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 35°C. Plan for rain or snow on about 158 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for Clearwater come from Blue River, 74 km north-east, so take them as the area’s climate.
A year in Clearwater at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Clearwater’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Clearwater feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 193 days, 20°C on 88
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. Some 13 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
Rain and melted snow: about 1,040 mm a year
The most falls in November, the least in February.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 416 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from October to April, with about 114 cm in January, the snowiest month. The snowiest of 252 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Clearwater
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total.
Living with Clearwater’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Count on about 102 frost-free days: the last frost averages 31 May, the first 11 September.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul.
Parks & trails →Roughly 9 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
About 16 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Clearwater’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Blue River
Blue River is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 74 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 690 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −44.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.6°C |
| Average wind | 2.4 km/h on average, most often from the north |
| Next-nearest location | Kamloops, 109 km |
How Clearwater 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 British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Clearwater whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest places to Clearwater with figures are 52–77 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater Blue River | 24.6°C | −10.6°C | 1,040 mm |
| Barriere 52 km · Kamloops | 29.3°C 4.7°C warmer | −5.7°C 4.9°C milder | 273 mm |
| Electoral Area H, Cariboo 76 km · Clinton | 23.9°C 0.7°C cooler | −9.8°C 0.8°C milder | 463 mm |
Clearwater 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 | −3.4°C | −10.6°C | −7.0°C | 109 mm | 114 cm |
| February | 0.5°C | −9.3°C | −4.4°C | 55 mm | 56 cm |
| March | 5.8°C | −5.3°C | 0.3°C | 69 mm | 45 cm |
| April | 11.7°C | −1.9°C | 4.9°C | 61 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 18.2°C | 2.7°C | 10.5°C | 71 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21.1°C | 6.9°C | 14.0°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.6°C | 8.8°C | 16.8°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.3°C | 7.7°C | 16.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.4°C | 4.3°C | 11.4°C | 78 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 9.1°C | 0.1°C | 4.6°C | 111 mm | 13 cm |
| November | 1.3°C | −4.1°C | −1.4°C | 120 mm | 75 cm |
| December | −3.4°C | −9.8°C | −6.6°C | 93 mm | 106 cm |
| Year | 10.7°C | −0.9°C | 4.9°C | 1,040 mm | 416 cm |
January has run from −44.0°C to 10.1°C in thirty years
Year to year, February varies most (a standard deviation of 3.5°C around −4.4°C) and August least (1.0°C).
Where Clearwater’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Blue River, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Clearwater’s climate
How warm does Clearwater get in summer?
Afternoons average 24.6°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Clearwater get in winter?
In January, the coldest month, the typical low is −10.6°C.
How much rain and snow does Clearwater get?
November is the wettest month at 120 mm and February the driest at 55 mm, for 1,040 mm over the year.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 160 days a year.
Are these figures for Clearwater itself?
Not really: Blue River, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Clearwater.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Clearwater →
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).