The SHOCKING Truth About Alberta Winters

[Glacier]

My friend tells me that he loves living in Vernon because he doesn't get those cold winters like they do in Alberta.

REALLY? Well, guess what, Lethbridge is one of the few places in Canada not along the BC coast where the daily max averages above freezing in January! Vernon don't even do that! So if you need warm winters, move to Alberta, not Vernon!

[Canada Goose]

So if you need warm winters, move to Alberta, not Vernon!

Move to southwestern Alberta, where foehn effect is common.

[Glacier]

Move to Southeastern Alberta, where foehn effect is common.

You means southwestern... Yes, that is true. Also true is that you get more windchill in Alberta than BC.

As far as I can find Blue River, BC is the least windy place on earth.

[Canada Goose]

You means southwestern... Yes, that is true. Also true is that you get more windchill in Alberta than BC.

Obviously! Fixed...

As far as I can find Blue River, BC is the least windy place on earth.

On earth? Hum...

[Glacier]

On earth? Hum...

I've looked high and low, and yes, the average wind speed of 2.6 km/h at Blue River is the lowest on earth.

EDIT: The 1981-2010 average windspeed is 2.6, but the entire period of record windspeed (1969 to the present) is 3.2. I was using the 2.6 before, but I'll have to do some math to compare this new value to see if it is still the lowest on earth.

EDIT2: I can't even find stations down below 5 let alone close to 3! Blue River is an airport so it's open. A station like West Vancouver is in the trees, so we are comparing apples to oranges, and yet even this station is 4.2.

EDIT3: Pemberton airport is 4.0, the lowest I can find so far besides Blue River.

EDIT4: Lowest speed locations at airports (so far):
1) Blue River = 3.2

2) Pemberton = 4.0
3) Stewart = 41
4) Dawson City, YT = 4.3
5) Beaver Creek, YT = 4.7
5) Princeton = 4.7
5) Burns Lake = 4.7
5) Golden = 4.7
9) Nakusp = 4.8

10) Port Alberni = 5.1
11) Puntzi Mountain = 5.2
12) Squamish = 5.3
13) Hendrickson Creek, AB = 5.9

14) Kelowna = 6.2
14) Haines Junction = 6.2
14) Nordegg, AB = 6.2
17) Quesnel = 6.4
17) Carmacks, YT = 6.4
19) Mayo, YT = 6.6
19) Nanaimo = 6.6
21) Revelstoke = 6.7
22) Fort Nelson = 6.8
22) Creston = 6.8

EDIT 5: I cannot find the old USA wind data website I used in the past. If I recall correctly, the lowest wind speed was Haines, Alaska at around 4 km/h.

EDIT 6: Clearwater is very close to Blue River at 3.4 km/h, but it's also not an airport, so perhaps surrounded by trees a little. Also, Cowichan is 3.4 as well, but trees likely slow down the wind there too.

Whistler is also sheltered by trees, and the average is 3.8 km/h.
Nahanni Butte, NWT averages 4.2, but it's also not an airport.

[Glacier]

Well, damn, I just looked up the average windspeed at Lethbridge! Wow, we are talking over 18 km/h, and over 20 km/h in January! That's pretty much the windiest city in Canada, and you can add 5 more degrees to the windchill versus Vernon (average around 5 km/h) when both are at -10.