Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station Canada

At Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station, the summers are warm; the winters are freezing, snowy, and windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 13°F to 81°F and is rarely below -14°F or above 91°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station for warm-weather activities is from early July to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 3.1 months, from June 10 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 71°F. The hottest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is July, with an average high of 79°F and low of 55°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.6 months, from November 17 to March 3, with an average daily high temperature below 42°F. The coldest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is January, with an average low of 15°F and high of 34°F.

At Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station begins around June 17 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around October 5.

The clearest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 5 and lasts for 8.4 months, ending around June 17.

The cloudiest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 63% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from May 2 to September 17, with a greater than 16% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is June, with an average of 7.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.5 months, from September 17 to May 2. The month with the fewest wet days at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is February, with an average of 1.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 7.5 months, from March 19 to November 3. The month with the most days of rain alone at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is June, with an average of 7.7 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 4.5 months, from November 3 to March 19. The month with the most days of snow alone at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is January, with an average of 1.3 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from April 6 to October 14, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is June, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from October 14 to April 6. The month with the least rain at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is February, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 16 to April 22, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is March, with an average snowfall of 2.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from April 22 to October 16. The least snow falls around July 14, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 7 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 19 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:22 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 5 minutes later at 8:28 AM on December 30. The earliest sunset is at 4:30 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 13 minutes later at 9:43 PM on June 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from October 6 to May 18, with average wind speeds of more than 9.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.6 months, from May 18 to October 6. The calmest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is from the west throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station typically lasts for 4.5 months (138 days), from around May 9 to around September 25, rarely starting before April 21 or after May 26, and rarely ending before September 8 or after October 12.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station should appear around April 25, only rarely appearing before April 12 or after May 9.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from May 4 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is July, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 26 to February 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is December, with an average of 1.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station are 49.700 deg latitude, -112.783 deg longitude, and 3,009 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 62 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,997 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (548 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,186 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Lethbridge Automated Reporting Station is covered by cropland (51%) and artificial surfaces (41%), within 10 miles by cropland (84%), and within 50 miles by cropland (77%) and grassland (21%).