Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than Electoral Area E, East Kootenay: 386 mm a year
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −10.1°C on average. Summer afternoons here are warmer than in 83% of Canadian towns. The wettest month is June; the driest is February. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 80 times a year.
These are not Electoral Area E, East Kootenay’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Cranbrook, 23 km south.
A year in Electoral Area E, East Kootenay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Electoral Area E, 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 E, East Kootenay feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
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.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
386 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
133 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from October to May, with about 35 cm in December, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Electoral Area E, East Kootenay
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C.
Living with Electoral Area E, East Kootenay’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 18 May to about 23 September, some 127 days in a normal year.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 15 days in a normal year.
About 20 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Electoral Area E, East Kootenay’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Cranbrook
ECCC builds the Cranbrook normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 23 km south |
| 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, 68 km |
How Electoral Area E, 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Electoral Area E, East Kootenay’s would only repeat its figures. The nearest places to Electoral Area E, East Kootenay with figures are 65–68 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay Cranbrook | 26.9°C | −10.1°C | 386 mm |
| Fernie 65 km · Sparwood | 24.9°C 2.0°C cooler | −10.7°C 0.6°C colder | 614 mm |
| Electoral Area F, East Kootenay 67 km · Banff | 22.5°C 4.4°C cooler | −13.5°C 3.4°C colder | 454 mm |
Electoral Area E, 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 | −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 |
March has run from −27.6°C to 22.4°C in thirty years
The month to count on least is February: one year in three its average strays more than 3.2°C from −3.5°C. June moves least, typically by 1.2°C.
Where Electoral Area E, East Kootenay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Cranbrook, 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, 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 E, East Kootenay’s climate
How warm does Electoral Area E, East Kootenay get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 26.9°C.
How cold does Electoral Area E, East Kootenay get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −10.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Electoral Area E, East Kootenay get?
Rain and snow add up to about 386 mm of water a year; June brings the most (62 mm), February the least (20 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Snow covers the ground, 1 cm or more, on about 99 days a year.
Are these figures for Electoral Area E, East Kootenay itself?
Not directly: Electoral Area E, East Kootenay has no ECCC normals of its own, and Cranbrook stands in for it.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area E, 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).