Photo: Holger Steinhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Snowfall in Fernie tops that of 91% of Canadian towns: about 280 cm a year
Nights in January average −10.7°C. The wettest month is November; the driest is August. Frosty nights outnumber those of 75% of Canadian towns. Expect about 189 frosty starts a year, days when the air falls to freezing.
Borrowed figures: Fernie has no normals station, so these come from Sparwood, 31 km north-east.
A year in Fernie at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Fernie’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Fernie feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 189 days, 20°C on 87
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
On about 108 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
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 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 Fernie
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Fernie’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 30 May until frost returns near 7 September: about 98 days.
Plan time outside for Jul: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Count on some 33 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
The air feels heavier than 30 on the humidex for about 11 days a year.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Fernie’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 | 31 km north-east |
| 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, 53 km |
How Fernie 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Fernie’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 23–50 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Fernie.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fernie Sparwood | 24.9°C | −10.7°C | 614 mm |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay 23 km · Cranbrook | 26.9°C 2.0°C warmer | −10.1°C 0.6°C milder | 386 mm |
| Crowsnest Pass 46 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C 0.7°C cooler | −10.4°C about the same | 550 mm |
Fernie 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 | −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 |
In March, anything from −31.3°C to 20.6°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 3.6°C of the normal, −4.8°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.0°C.
Where Fernie’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Sparwood (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- 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: 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 Fernie’s climate
How warm does Fernie get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 24.9°C.
How cold does Fernie get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in December, with lows near −10.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Fernie get?
614 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is November (72 mm); the driest, August (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 Fernie itself?
Not quite: they come from Sparwood, the closest ECCC normals location to Fernie.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Fernie →
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).