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Climate of Southern Alberta

Maximum Temperature = 41 degrees Celsius
Minimum Temperature = -43 degrees Celsius
Average Precipitation = 330 millimeters


 
Month Mean Daily High
Temperature
(deg.C)		 Mean Daily Low
Temperature
(deg. C)		 Mean Monthly
Precipitation
(mm)
January -7 -18 21
February -4 -15 17
March 2 -10 25
April 12 -2 30
May 18 4 38
June 22 9 64
July 28 12 32
August 27 11 28
September 20 5 24
October 14 -1 16
November 3 -9 15
December -2 -14 18

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The Chinook
Chinook winds blow quite often in southern Alberta. To the native people, the Chinook was known as "the snow eater" which came from the west and "ate" away winter snows. A Chinook requires:

  • A strong wind (eg. prevailing westerly wind)
  • A mountain range (eg. Rocky Mountains)
  • A vacuum to suck the air into it as it passes over the mountains (eg. low pressure areas in Saskatchewan).


    • "Moist Pacific air is pushed by the prevailing westerly wind to the Rocky Mountains. The air rises, cools, and rain falls as the moisture in the clouds condenses. The moisture in the air protects the Chinook from raid changes in temperature. The air will cool slowly as it rises until the moisture is lost. Once the air reaches the end of the Rockies, it is quite dry and must drop down to the prairies."
    From Chinook pamphlet by Helen Schuler Coulee Center.

    So in southern Alberta, especially in the southwestern portion, Chinook winds are a common occurrence which take away the newly fallen snows and leave the landscape brown.

    Onefour Weather Station

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