Average Weather in Grand Forks Canada

1. World
2. Canada
3. British Columbia
4. Grand Forks

In Grand Forks, the summers are short, warm, and partly cloudy; the winters are freezing and mostly cloudy; and it is dry year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 21°F to 88°F and is rarely below 6°F or above 97°F.

The hot season lasts for 2.7 months, from June 20 to September 10, with an average daily high temperature above 76°F. The hottest day of the year is August 4, with an average high of 88°F and low of 57°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.5 months, from November 12 to February 26, with an average daily high temperature below 42°F. The coldest day of the year is January 1, with an average low of 21°F and high of 30°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Grand Forks, 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 in Grand Forks begins around June 6 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around October 9. On August 3, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 75% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 25% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 9 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around June 6. On January 10, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 26% 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 in Grand Forks varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.2 months, from October 19 to June 26, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 34% on November 21.

The drier season lasts 3.8 months, from June 26 to October 19. The smallest chance of a wet day is 10% on August 22.

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 in Grand Forks changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 10 months, from January 30 to December 9. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 31% on May 27.

Snow alone is the most common for 1.7 months, from December 9 to January 30. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 17% on December 28.

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. Grand Forks experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Grand Forks. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around June 4, with an average total accumulation of 1.8 inches.

The least rain falls around January 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.5 inches.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Grand Forks experiences some seasonal variation in monthly liquid-equivalent snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from October 31 to March 12, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around December 28, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from March 12 to October 31. The least snow falls around July 21, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Grand Forks varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 13 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 16 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:48 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 59 minutes later at 7:47 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 3:56 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 6 minutes later at 9:02 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Grand Forks during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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 in Grand Forks, 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 predominant average hourly wind direction in Grand Forks varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 3.4 weeks, from March 21 to April 14 and for 1.7 months, from October 4 to November 26, with a peak percentage of 39% on November 5. The wind is most often from the west for 5.7 months, from April 14 to October 4, with a peak percentage of 37% on June 23. The wind is most often from the east for 3.8 months, from November 26 to March 21, with a peak percentage of 43% on January 1.

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 3.3 months, from May 12 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest day of the year is July 18, with an average of 7.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 24 to February 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.2 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 23, with an average of 0.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Grand Forks are 49.033 deg latitude, -118.436 deg longitude, and 1,913 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Grand Forks contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,329 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,054 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (4,649 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,352 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Grand Forks is covered by sparse vegetation (44%), shrubs (24%), and grassland (19%), within 10 miles by trees (70%) and shrubs (16%), and within 50 miles by trees (67%) and shrubs (18%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Grand Forks, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Grand Forks.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Grand Forks according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Grand Forks is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Grand Forks and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: West Kootenay Regional Airport (65%, 52 kilometers, east) and Osoyoos Automatic Weather Reporting System (35%, 73 kilometers, west).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.