Climate averages 1991–2020
Calgary weather
in January.
A freezing month with very little precipitation: the coolest and one of the driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a freezing month in Calgary: daytime highs average -2.9°C and nights cool to about -13.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 12 mm of precipitation on roughly 4 days, which makes January a month with very little precipitation (one of the driest months of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 8 h 28 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Airdrie (28 km away). In January its highs average -3.3°C, about as warm as Calgary, with 13 mm of precipitation.
Among the 86 cities listed in Canada, Calgary ranks 50th of 86 for the warmest January highs and 1st of 86 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 86 cities is -2.3°C; Calgary is 0.6°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 2.9°C to 0.0°C, and monthly precipitation stays at 12 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Calgary climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | -2.9°C-13.1°C | -13.1°C | 12 | 3.7 | 8.58 h |
| February | 0.0°C-11.4°C | -11.4°C | 12 | 3.7 | 10.010 h |
| March | 4.2°C-7.6°C | -7.6°C | 21 | 5.5 | 11.812 h |
| April | 10.1°C-2.2°C | -2.2°C | 38 | 8.0 | 13.814 h |
| May | 15.7°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 72 | 11.3 | 15.516 h |
| June | 19.1°C7.8°C | 7.8°C | 104 | 13.7 | 16.516 h |
| July | 22.7°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 61 | 10.8 | 16.116 h |
| August | 22.3°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 63 | 9.5 | 14.615 h |
| September | 17.5°C5.6°C | 5.6°C | 44 | 7.9 | 12.713 h |
| October | 10.2°C-0.7°C | -0.7°C | 24 | 6.2 | 10.811 h |
| November | 2.1°C-7.1°C | -7.1°C | 19 | 4.9 | 9.09 h |
| December | -2.8°C-12.5°C | -12.5°C | 14 | 3.7 | 8.08 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Airdrie in JanuaryCanada · 28 kmHigh -3.3°C · Low -12.8°C · 13 mm precipitation
- Red Deer in JanuaryCanada · 137 kmHigh -5.6°C · Low -15.3°C · 17 mm precipitation
- Lethbridge in JanuaryCanada · 175 kmHigh -0.9°C · Low -9.7°C · 14 mm precipitation
- Sherwood Park in JanuaryCanada · 279 kmHigh -8.2°C · Low -16.6°C · 17 mm precipitation
- Edmonton in JanuaryCanada · 281 kmHigh -7.9°C · Low -16.4°C · 18 mm precipitation
- Kelowna in JanuaryCanada · 404 kmHigh 1.2°C · Low -4.1°C · 59 mm precipitation
- Spokane Valley in JanuaryUnited States · 439 kmHigh 1.9°C · Low -4.9°C · 78 mm precipitation
- Kamloops in JanuaryCanada · 440 kmHigh -1.0°C · Low -7.1°C · 41 mm precipitation
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Calgary) is explained once on the Calgary year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.