Where the winter is colder-Ottawa or Calgary?

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SteveN

There is a saying in Calgary: "...If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes..."

Calgary experiences a wide range of weather, and it can dip down quite low at times, but it never stays at either extreme (too hot or too cold) for a long period.

The mountains and the Chinook winds that come down can cause the temperature and weather to change in the matter of an hour. You may wake up to 8 inches of new snow, and by lunchtime the snow has all melted away and you are outside wearing a t-shirt.

Ottawa is in the St. Lawrence seaway valley and has weather that is much more consistent. You will get very cold in the winter and usually see several inches of snow that stays around for weeks.

You may have an easier time dressing for winter in Ottawa, because what you get in the morning will pretty much be the same all day. It can get pretty monotonous to see nothing but grey clouds for 3-4 months though, so it all depends on what you want... variety or predictability.

Goddess of Grammar

Calgary gets colder than Ottawa ever does, but it never stays as cold for as long.
Ottawa gets more snow.

moglie

different kind of cold. Ottawa wet/humid goes right through ya and stays in ya kinda cold because of the water rivers and lakes around it, and Ottawa in a valley gets lots of snow that stays.
Calgary is a dry cold plus chances of Chinooks warm air that travels over the mountains

pinkpiglet126

Ottawa's average winter temps:

Month Min Max
Nov -3 4
Dec -13 -4
Jan -16 -6
Feb -16 -6

Calgary
Nov -8.9 2.8
Dec -13.3 -1
Jan - 15 -2.8
Feb -12 -0.1

As you can see, Calgary isn't colder really. Not to mention we get chinooks (warm winds from the ocean) which can warm us up from -15C to 10C in a matter of minutes in the winter. The mountains which are close can be much colder but even then not too bad.

Our climate in southern Alberta isn't all that bad in the winter although we usually have a real good cold snap of -25 or so every winter.

Rumbly

Ottawa! Calgary is a dry cold and not felt in your bones like the cold in Ottawa.

nbr660

Calgary

Penguin_Bob

Calgary will be the coldest ... it is much further north. It is a dry and not so unpleasant cold. Ottawa, however, has cold, damp, and sometimes unpleasant winter weather. It does, however, have very many great winter activities such as the Rideau Canal (the longest groomed skating rink in the world), Winterlude, etc. If this is a school question, then the answer is Calgary. If it is a tourist question, I would recommend Ottawa.

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