Photo: Lkjx8651 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Climate in Electoral Area B, East Kootenay · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Hardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than Electoral Area B, East Kootenay: 386 mm a year

Expect July afternoons of about 26.9°C. Precipitation peaks in June and eases off in February. In July, afternoons here are warmer than in 83% of Canadian towns. Picnics, hikes and garden evenings come into their own from June to August, with highs of 22–27°C.

July afternoons: warmer than 83% of Canadian towns

January nights: milder than 68% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year: drier than 96% of Canadian towns

ECCC publishes no normals for Electoral Area B, East Kootenay itself; the figures are those of Cranbrook, 45 km north-west.

July high

26.9°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−10.1°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

386 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

133 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

174

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

127

18 May to 23 Sep

A year in Electoral Area B, East Kootenay at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−2°C−10°CColdest nights

Feb2°C−9°C

Mar7°C−4°C

Apr13°C0°C

May18°C5°CLast frost ~18 May

Jun22°C8°CWettest

Jul27°C11°CWarmest

Aug27°C10°C

Sep20°C6°CFirst frost ~23 Sep

Oct11°C0°C

Nov now3°C−5°C

Dec−3°C−10°CSnowiest

What stands out about Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.

Drier than 96% of Canadian townsAbout 386 mm of rain and melted snow a year; June is the wettest month and February the driest.Warmer than 83% of Canadian townsJuly afternoons average 26.9°C, the warmest of the year.

A normal year

What a year in Electoral Area B, East Kootenay feels like

Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.

Winter

−1°C / −10°C

81 mm, with 80 cm of snow

Spring

13°C / 0°C

92 mm, with 23 cm of snow

Summer

25°C / 10°C

122 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

12°C / 0°C

91 mm, with 30 cm of snow

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

−2°C−10°C

2°C−9°C

7°C−4°C

13°C0°C

18°C5°C

22°C8°C

27°C11°C

27°C10°C

20°C6°C

11°C0°C

3°C−5°C

−3°C−10°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJunJulAugHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

174 frost days and 104 days above 20°C a year

Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. Some 10 nights a year drop under −20°C.

127 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

18 May 23 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

174

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 60% of Canadian towns

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

104

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

About 386 mm of rain and snow a year

Some 80 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.

386 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 96% of Canadian towns

279 mm

Of it as rain alone (72%)

62 mm

June, the wettest month

20 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

62 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

66 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

Snowfall: about 133 cm in a normal year

From October to May snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 35 cm.

133 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than 59% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

Days a year with 1 cm or more on the ground

18 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of January, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

35 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

18 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Electoral Area B, East Kootenay

88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.

4,460 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,739 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days.

Living here

Living with Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s climate

Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.

The garden window

From about 18 May to 23 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 127 days.

Get outside

The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 15 days a year.

Humidex

The air feels heavier than 30 on the humidex for about 20 days a year.

Storms and extremes

Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s hazards page does.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Cranbrook

Cranbrook is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.

Distance from the town	45 km north-west
Station altitude	940 m
Completeness	meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule
WMO standard normals	No
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−35.5°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	40.4°C
Average wind	7.5 km/h on average, most often from the south
Next-nearest location	Sparwood, 53 km

Compared with other towns

How Electoral Area B, 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.

July afternoons26.9°C

Electoral Area B, East KootenayMedian Canadian town

14°C18°C22°C26°C30°C

Warmer than 83% of Canadian towns

January nights−10.1°C

Electoral Area B, East KootenayMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C−5°C0°C5°C

Milder than 68% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year386 mm

Electoral Area B, East KootenayMedian Canadian town

01,0002,0003,000

Drier than 96% of Canadian towns

Snowfall a year133 cm

Electoral Area B, East KootenayMedian Canadian town

0100200300400500

Less snowy than 59% of Canadian towns

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 23–78 km from Electoral Area B, East Kootenay.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Electoral Area B, East Kootenay Cranbrook	26.9°C	−10.1°C	386 mm
Fernie 23 km · Sparwood	24.9°C 2.0°C cooler	−10.7°C 0.6°C colder	614 mm
Crowsnest Pass 67 km · Pincher Creek	24.2°C 2.7°C cooler	−10.4°C about the same	550 mm

Month by month

Electoral Area B, East Kootenay 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	−1.9°C	−10.1°C	−6.1°C	27 mm	28 cm
February	1.6°C	−8.6°C	−3.5°C	20 mm	17 cm
March	7.3°C	−3.8°C	1.8°C	27 mm	16 cm
April	12.8°C	0.0°C	6.4°C	23 mm	6 cm
May	18.3°C	4.7°C	11.5°C	42 mm	1 cm
June	21.5°C	8.2°C	14.9°C	62 mm	0 cm
July	26.9°C	11.3°C	19.2°C	35 mm	0 cm
August	26.6°C	10.4°C	18.6°C	24 mm	0 cm
September	20.4°C	5.7°C	13.1°C	30 mm	0 cm
October	11.4°C	−0.3°C	5.6°C	26 mm	6 cm
November	2.7°C	−5.3°C	−1.3°C	35 mm	24 cm
December	−2.8°C	−10.1°C	−6.5°C	35 mm	35 cm
Year	12.1°C	0.2°C	6.1°C	386 mm	133 cm

Year to year

The month with the widest range: March, −27.6°C to 22.4°C

Two years in three, February’s average falls within 3.2°C of its normal of −3.5°C; June keeps to within 1.2°C.

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Cranbrook: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of 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 Electoral Area B, East Kootenay’s climate

How warm does Electoral Area B, East Kootenay get in summer?

Summer peaks in July: a typical afternoon reaches 26.9°C.

How cold does Electoral Area B, East Kootenay get in winter?

Lows sink to −10.1°C on an average January night.

How much rain and snow does Electoral Area B, East Kootenay get?

Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 386 mm a year; June leads with 62 mm and February trails with 20 mm.

How long does snow stay on the ground?

In a normal winter there are about 99 days with at least 1 cm of snow lying.

Are these figures for Electoral Area B, East Kootenay itself?

Only indirectly: the readings are made at Cranbrook, outside Electoral Area B, East Kootenay.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area B, 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).