Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainSnowfall in Elkford tops that of 91% of Canadian towns: about 280 cm a year
In July the day’s top temperature is typically 24.9°C. About 189 nights a year bring a frost, more than in 75% of Canadian towns. The wettest month is November; the driest is August. Homes need heating from October to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
Elkford has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Sparwood, 30 km south.
A year in Elkford at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Elkford’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Elkford feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 189 days, 20°C on 87
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. On about 15 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
614 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Some 108 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 280 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs September to June; December brings the most, about 60 cm. 6th 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 Elkford
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. By this count, homes here need more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Elkford’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Count on about 98 frost-free days: the last frost averages 30 May, the first 7 September.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jul.
Parks & trails →Count on some 33 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
Roughly 11 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Elkford’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sparwood
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Sparwood are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 30 km south |
| 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, 76 km |
How Elkford 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 British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Elkford’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 56–78 km from Elkford.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elkford Sparwood | 24.9°C | −10.7°C | 614 mm |
| Crowsnest Pass 56 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C 0.7°C cooler | −10.4°C about the same | 550 mm |
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay 68 km · Cranbrook | 26.9°C 2.0°C warmer | −10.1°C 0.6°C milder | 386 mm |
Elkford weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the 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 |
A March here can run from −31.3°C to 20.6°C
Two years in three, February’s average falls within 3.6°C of its normal of −4.8°C; June keeps to within 1.0°C.
Where Elkford’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: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Elkford’s climate
How warm does Elkford get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 24.9°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Elkford get in winter?
At its coldest, in December, the normal low is −10.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Elkford get?
Count on roughly 614 mm a year, heaviest in November (72 mm) and lightest in August (32 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Snow covers the ground, 1 cm or more, on about 117 days a year.
Are these figures for Elkford itself?
No. ECCC measures normals at Sparwood, not in Elkford; the page uses the nearest it has.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Elkford →
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).