Electoral Area A, East Kootenay gets more snow than 91% of Canadian towns: about 280 cm a year
Expect July afternoons of about 24.9°C. The wettest month is November; the driest is August. About 189 nights a year bring a frost, more than in 75% of Canadian towns. Have the furnace checked before October to May, the months that average under 10°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location to Electoral Area A, East Kootenay is Sparwood, 20 km north, and every figure on this page is its.
A year in Electoral Area A, East Kootenay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Electoral Area A, East Kootenay’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Electoral Area A, East Kootenay feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 189 frosts and 87 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. Some 15 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
About 614 mm of rain and snow a year
About 108 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
280 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from September to June, most of all in December (about 60 cm). 6th snowiest of 253 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 Electoral Area A, East Kootenay
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. A house here needs more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Electoral Area A, East Kootenay’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
On average the last spring frost comes around 30 May and the first autumn frost around 7 September: about 98 frost-free days between.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul.
Parks & trails →Roughly 33 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
Count on some 11 humid days a year with the humidex past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Electoral Area A, East Kootenay’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sparwood
ECCC builds the Sparwood normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 20 km north |
| Station altitude | 1,138 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −37.9°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.3°C |
| Average wind | 8.3 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Cranbrook, 58 km |
How Electoral Area A, East Kootenay compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Electoral Area A, East Kootenay whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 34–65 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Electoral Area A, East Kootenay.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, East Kootenay Sparwood | 24.9°C | −10.7°C | 614 mm |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay 34 km · Cranbrook | 26.9°C 2.0°C warmer | −10.1°C 0.6°C milder | 386 mm |
| Crowsnest Pass 38 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C 0.7°C cooler | −10.4°C about the same | 550 mm |
Electoral Area A, East Kootenay weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.1°C | −10.7°C | −6.4°C | 49 mm | 50 cm |
| February | 0.4°C | −9.9°C | −4.8°C | 38 mm | 42 cm |
| March | 5.2°C | −5.3°C | −0.1°C | 56 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 10.7°C | −1.7°C | 4.5°C | 40 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 16.1°C | 2.4°C | 9.3°C | 58 mm | 8 cm |
| June | 19.6°C | 5.8°C | 12.7°C | 71 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 24.9°C | 8.1°C | 16.5°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.8°C | 7.0°C | 15.9°C | 32 mm | under 1 cm |
| September | 18.8°C | 3.4°C | 11.1°C | 44 mm | 4 cm |
| October | 10.5°C | −1.2°C | 4.7°C | 54 mm | 11 cm |
| November | 2.2°C | −5.7°C | −1.8°C | 72 mm | 47 cm |
| December | −3.0°C | −10.8°C | −6.9°C | 56 mm | 60 cm |
| Year | 10.7°C | −1.6°C | 4.6°C | 614 mm | 280 cm |
The most changeable month: February, give or take 3.6°C; the steadiest, June
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than March, between −31.3°C (2019) and 20.6°C (2004).
Where Electoral Area A, East Kootenay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Sparwood, 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 (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 Electoral Area A, East Kootenay’s climate
How warm does Electoral Area A, East Kootenay get in summer?
Highs reach 24.9°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Electoral Area A, East Kootenay get in winter?
Expect nights around −10.8°C in December; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Electoral Area A, East Kootenay get?
The year adds up to 614 mm. November is the peak month (72 mm) and August the low one (32 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 117 days a year.
Are these figures for Electoral Area A, East Kootenay itself?
No, they come from Sparwood; ECCC keeps no 1991–2020 normals in Electoral Area A, East Kootenay itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area A, East Kootenay →
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).