Climate in Birch Hills · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Birch Hills has some of the coldest winter nights among Canadian towns

In July the day’s top temperature is typically 24.2°C. Some 47°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Its yearly rain and snow fall short of 86% of Canadian towns. Have the furnace checked before October to April, the months that average under 10°C.

July afternoons: cooler than 69% of Canadian towns

January nights: colder than almost every Canadian town

Rain and snow a year: drier than 86% of Canadian towns

Birch Hills has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Prince Albert, 31 km north-west.

July high

24.2°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−22.8°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

432 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

112 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

209

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

113

24 May to 15 Sep

A year in Birch Hills at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−12°C−23°CColdest nightsSnowiest

Feb−8°C−20°C

Mar−1°C−13°C

Apr9°C−4°C

May17°C3°CLast frost ~24 May

Jun22°C9°CWettest

Jul24°C12°CWarmest

Aug23°C10°C

Sep18°C4°CFirst frost ~15 Sep

Oct9°C−2°C

Nov now−2°C−11°C

Dec−9°C−19°C

What stands out about Birch Hills’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.

Colder than almost every Canadian townJanuary nights average −22.8°C, the coldest of the year. 98th mildest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan.A wider year than 96% of Canadian townsFrom January nights to July afternoons, the year spans 47.0°C.Less snowy than 87% of Canadian townsAbout 112 cm of snow falls in a year, most of it in January.

A normal year

What a year in Birch Hills feels like

Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.

Winter

−10°C / −21°C

46 mm, with 58 cm of snow

Spring

8°C / −5°C

85 mm, with 28 cm of snow

Summer

23°C / 10°C

214 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

8°C / −3°C

88 mm, with 26 cm of snow

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

−12°C−23°C

−8°C−20°C

−1°C−13°C

9°C−4°C

17°C3°C

22°C9°C

24°C12°C

23°C10°C

18°C4°C

9°C−2°C

−2°C−11°C

−9°C−19°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJunJulAugHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

Frost on 209 days, 20°C on 94

From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 58 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.

113 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

24 May 15 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

209

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 96% of Canadian towns

120

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

432 mm of precipitation in a typical year

June is the wettest month and February the driest. 9th wettest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan. On about 71 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.

432 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 86% of Canadian towns

344 mm

Of it as rain alone (80%)

86 mm

June, the wettest month

12 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

86 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

86 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

About 112 cm of snow a year

From October to May snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 23 cm.

112 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than 87% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

146

Days a year with 1 cm or more on the ground

23 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of February, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

23 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

23 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Birch Hills

89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.

6,112 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,498 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.

Living here

Living with Birch Hills’s climate

What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.

The garden window

The growing season between frosts lasts about 113 days, roughly 24 May to 15 September.

Get outside

The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Expect around 84 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.

Humidex

Humid heat, a humidex over 30, comes on about 17 days a year.

Storms and extremes

Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Birch Hills’s hazards page covers them.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Prince Albert

ECCC builds the Prince Albert normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.

Distance from the town	31 km north-west
Station altitude	428 m
Completeness	at least 25 years
WMO standard normals	No
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−46.1°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	36.5°C
Average wind	11.8 km/h on average, most often from the west
Next-nearest location	Melfort, 59 km

Compared with other towns

How Birch Hills 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 Saskatchewan.

July afternoons24.2°C

Birch HillsMedian Canadian town

20°C22°C24°C26°C28°C

Cooler than 69% of Canadian towns

January nights−22.8°C

Birch HillsMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Colder than almost every Canadian town98th mildest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan

Rain and snow a year432 mm

Birch HillsMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than 86% of Canadian towns9th wettest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan

Snowfall a year112 cm

Birch HillsMedian Canadian town

0100200300

Less snowy than 87% of Canadian towns

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Birch Hills’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 57–90 km from Birch Hills.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Birch Hills Prince Albert	24.2°C	−22.8°C	432 mm
Melfort 57 km · Melfort	23.4°C 0.8°C cooler	−21.1°C 1.7°C milder	397 mm
Rosthern 70 km · Saskatoon Diefenbaker (Airport)	25.0°C 0.8°C warmer	−20.7°C 2.1°C milder	357 mm
Humboldt No. 370 87 km · Watrous	24.6°C about the same	−20.0°C 2.8°C milder	417 mm

Month by month

Birch Hills 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	−11.6°C	−22.8°C	−17.2°C	19 mm	23 cm
February	−7.9°C	−20.3°C	−14.1°C	12 mm	14 cm
March	−1.4°C	−13.4°C	−7.4°C	15 mm	15 cm
April	9.1°C	−3.8°C	2.7°C	28 mm	10 cm
May	17.3°C	2.7°C	10.1°C	43 mm	2 cm
June	21.5°C	8.7°C	15.2°C	86 mm	0 cm
July	24.2°C	11.6°C	17.9°C	77 mm	0 cm
August	23.4°C	9.8°C	16.7°C	50 mm	0 cm
September	17.6°C	4.2°C	10.9°C	42 mm	under 1 cm
October	8.5°C	−2.4°C	3.1°C	30 mm	10 cm
November	−2.0°C	−10.9°C	−6.5°C	16 mm	16 cm
December	−9.3°C	−19.4°C	−14.4°C	16 mm	20 cm
Year	7.4°C	−4.7°C	1.4°C	432 mm	112 cm

Year to year

The month with the widest range: April, −30.4°C to 30.3°C

Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; December is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±4.3°C around −14.4°C), June the one that wanders least (±1.2°C).

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Birch Hills’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Prince Albert, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.

Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Questions about Birch Hills’s climate

How warm does Birch Hills get in summer?

Highs reach 24.2°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.

How cold does Birch Hills get in winter?

Expect nights around −22.8°C in January; no month is colder.

How much rain and snow does Birch Hills get?

Count on roughly 432 mm a year, heaviest in June (86 mm) and lightest in February (12 mm).

How long does snow stay on the ground?

Count on about 146 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.

Are these figures for Birch Hills itself?

They are the closest available: the normals for Prince Albert, since Birch Hills has none.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Birch Hills →

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).