Sparwood gets more snow than 91% of Canadian towns: about 280 cm a year
January mornings start at about −10.7°C. Frosty nights outnumber those of 75% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 36°C. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 108 days a year with 1 mm or more.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Sparwood (1.9 km north-east).
A year in Sparwood at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Sparwood’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Sparwood feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 189 frosts and 87 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. 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
November brings the most rain and snow; August, the least.
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 Sparwood
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Sparwood’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Seedlings can go out once the average last frost, around 30 May, has passed; autumn’s first, near 7 September, ends a season of about 98 days.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jul.
Parks & trails →Count on some 33 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
Plan shade and water for about 11 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Sparwood’s hazards page.
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 | 1.9 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, 65 km |
How Sparwood compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Sparwood’s own would show the same figures). No closer places have figures: these lie 34–68 km from Sparwood.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparwood | 24.9°C | −10.7°C | 614 mm |
| Crowsnest Pass 34 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C 0.7°C cooler | −10.4°C about the same | 550 mm |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay 51 km · Cranbrook | 26.9°C 2.0°C warmer | −10.1°C 0.6°C milder | 386 mm |
Sparwood weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and 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 February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.6°C; the steadiest month is June
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; March’s run from −31.3°C in 2019 to 20.6°C in 2004.
Where Sparwood’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: 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: 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 Sparwood’s climate
How warm does Sparwood get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 24.9°C.
How cold does Sparwood get in winter?
Expect nights around −10.8°C in December; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Sparwood get?
Around 614 mm a year in all, from 72 mm in November down to 32 mm in August.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 117 days a year.
Are these figures for Sparwood itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Sparwood itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Sparwood →
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).