Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, the park has a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Located on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, Banff National Park receives 472 mm (18.6 in) of precipitation annually. This is considerably less than received in Yoho National Park on the western side of the divide in British Columbia, with 884 mm (34.8 in) annual precipitation at Wapta Lake and 616 mm (24.3 in) at Boulder Creek. 234 mm (9.2 in) of snow falls on average each winter in the Banff townsite, while 290 mm (11 in) falls in Lake Louise.
During winter months, temperatures in Banff are moderated, compared to other areas of central and northern Alberta, due to Chinook winds and other influences from British Columbia. The mean low temperature during January is −15 °C (5 °F), and the mean high temperature is −5 °C (23 °F) for the Town of Banff. Weather conditions during summer months are warm, with high temperatures during July averaging 22 °C (72 °F), and daily low temperatures averaging 7 °C (45 °F).
| Climate data for Banff | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Humidex | 12.2 | 14.3 | 16.1 | 24.4 | 29.0 | 30.0 | 33.0 | 32.8 | 30.4 | 24.9 | 15.0 | 12.2 | 33.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
14.7 (58.5) |
17.2 (63.0) |
25.6 (78.1) |
29.4 (84.9) |
33.3 (91.9) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.9 (93.0) |
31.0 (87.8) |
26.5 (79.7) |
16.5 (61.7) |
12.5 (54.5) |
34.4 (93.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −4.6 (23.7) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.5 (40.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
14.5 (58.1) |
18.5 (65.3) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.3 (70.3) |
16.3 (61.3) |
10.1 (50.2) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −9.3 (15.3) |
−6 (21.2) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
3.5 (38.3) |
8.1 (46.6) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
14.1 (57.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −14.1 (6.6) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
1.7 (35.1) |
5.4 (41.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
6.9 (44.4) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −51.2 (−60.2) |
−45 (−49.0) |
−40.6 (−41.1) |
−27.2 (−17.0) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−16.7 (1.9) |
−27 (−16.6) |
−40.6 (−41.1) |
−48.3 (−54.9) |
−51.2 (−60.2) |
| Wind chill | −52.1 | −49.1 | −41.8 | −37 | −21.1 | −5.3 | −3.2 | −4.7 | −14.4 | −28.7 | −43.1 | −50.6 | −52.1 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 27.5 (1.083) |
21.9 (0.862) |
23.4 (0.921) |
32.4 (1.276) |
59.6 (2.346) |
61.7 (2.429) |
54.2 (2.134) |
60.1 (2.366) |
42.1 (1.657) |
29.4 (1.157) |
26.8 (1.055) |
33.2 (1.307) |
472.3 (18.594) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 2.9 (0.114) |
1.7 (0.067) |
2.7 (0.106) |
12.6 (0.496) |
44.3 (1.744) |
59.8 (2.354) |
54.1 (2.13) |
60.0 (2.362) |
37.0 (1.457) |
13.8 (0.543) |
4.4 (0.173) |
3.1 (0.122) |
296.2 (11.661) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 34.1 (13.43) |
29.3 (11.54) |
28.1 (11.06) |
22.5 (8.86) |
17.0 (6.69) |
1.8 (0.71) |
0.0 (0) |
0.2 (0.08) |
5.7 (2.24) |
19.8 (7.8) |
32.3 (12.72) |
43.2 (17.01) |
234.1 (92.17) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 10.7 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 10.9 | 13.4 | 15.0 | 14.5 | 15.0 | 11.0 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 141.0 |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 11.7 | 14.9 | 14.5 | 14.9 | 10.0 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 82.9 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 11.1 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 7.9 | 4.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 9.2 | 11.2 | 71.0 |
| Source: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Banff National Park
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