The climate of Alberta (Canada)
Alberta is a province in Canada. The largest city in Alberta is
Calgary. From north to south the province measures 1,200 kilometers,
an enormous area. Large parts are prairie or forests, several lakes
and rivers can be found as well. Alberta has several large National
Parks such as Wood Buffalo National Park. Alberta has a continental or
land climate. This type of climate only occurs in the interior. The
moderating influence of the ocean is hardly noticeable so the land
warms up easily and cools down easily. Because of this extremes in
temperatures occur both during winter and summer. During the winter
temperatures may drop as low as -54 degrees Celsius because of the
influence from the poles. During the summer the influence from the
south gets larger and temperatures may rise to 32 degrees Celsius in
the mountains and 40 degrees Celsius in the south of Alberta. Alberta
is an enormous province so there are large differences in the climate
as well. In the south west the wind collides with the Rocky Mountains,
this causes this area to be very wet because the moist air is lifted
over the mountain range (orographic precipitation). The region on the
other side of the Rocky Mountains hardly gets any rain and is very
dry. In the south west of Alberta Chinook winds may occur during the
winter. These winds come from the mountains and cause temperatures to
rise suddenly. Differences of 10 degrees Celsius may sometimes be
recorded. The northern part of Alberta is mostly covered with forests
and has a sub-arctic climate. The western part of Alberta is much
warmer and is being moderated by its leeward situation and the Chinook
winds have a warming effect. In central Alberta tornadoes may occur.
The area surrounding Calgary get a remarkably high number of hail
storms.
Climate information
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate records.
They are an average for Alberta:
Please, note that local deviations may occur.
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we offer useful extra climate
information for each month of the year:
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
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