Photo: Murray Foubister · CC BY-SA 2.0Less rain and snow fall on Golden than on 78% of Canadian towns: 457 mm a year
July afternoons average 25.4°C. Seasons differ by 36°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Frost is common: about 180 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in 71% of Canadian towns. Heating does most of its work from October to April, in months below 10°C on average.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Golden station, 1.1 km north-west.
A year in Golden at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Golden’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Golden feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
180 frost days and 94 days above 20°C a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. Some 11 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 457 mm of rain and snow a year
June is the wettest month and February the driest. About 97 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 169 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from October to May, most of all in January (about 48 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Golden
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months.
Living with Golden’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Plant out after about 13 May; the first frost of autumn usually arrives near 25 September, leaving roughly 134 days without frost.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Golden’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Golden
Golden is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 1.1 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 785 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −36.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.3°C |
| Next-nearest location | Revelstoke, 92 km |
How Golden 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
Places around Golden whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 61–98 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Golden.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden | 25.4°C | −10.9°C | 457 mm |
| Improvement District No. 9 Banff 61 km · Banff | 22.5°C 2.9°C cooler | −13.5°C 2.6°C colder | 454 mm |
| Revelstoke 92 km · Revelstoke | 26.5°C 1.1°C warmer | −5.7°C 5.2°C milder | 654 mm |
Golden 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 | −4.2°C | −10.9°C | −7.5°C | 42 mm | 48 cm |
| February | −0.1°C | −9.7°C | −4.9°C | 23 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 6.4°C | −4.7°C | 0.9°C | 30 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 13.2°C | −0.5°C | 6.4°C | 24 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 18.9°C | 4.2°C | 11.6°C | 36 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21.8°C | 8.3°C | 15.0°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.4°C | 10.4°C | 17.9°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.7°C | 9.4°C | 17.0°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.6°C | 5.3°C | 12.0°C | 41 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 9.9°C | 0.3°C | 5.1°C | 38 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 1.2°C | −4.6°C | −1.7°C | 51 mm | 30 cm |
| December | −4.4°C | −10.1°C | −7.3°C | 39 mm | 43 cm |
| Year | 10.9°C | −0.2°C | 5.4°C | 457 mm | 169 cm |
In March, anything from −27.5°C to 20.2°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 3.5°C of the normal, −4.9°C. June is the steadiest, within 1.1°C.
Where Golden’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Golden from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 Golden’s climate
How warm does Golden get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 25.4°C on a typical day.
How cold does Golden get in winter?
Lows sink to −10.9°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Golden get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 457 mm; the range runs from 23 mm in February to 54 mm in June.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
About 125 days a year have 1 cm of snow or more on the ground.
Are these figures for Golden itself?
Yes. They were measured in Golden, at ECCC’s own station there.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Golden →
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).