Lake Louise Weather
What it is doing at Lake Louise right now, the seven-day forecast, and what the weather is really like in the month you are coming.
Updated Mountain Time.
Right now
1 h ago6.9°C
- Wind
- 11 km/h SW
- Humidity
- 85%
- Dew point
- 4.6°C
- Snow depth
- 0 cm
Measured at YOHO PARK, 1603 m, the nearest reporting station to Lake Louise.
Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
7-day forecast
14 min agoToday
Sunny
16°
0°
Thursday
Sunny
19°
1°
Friday
Sunny
21°
2°
Saturday
Sunny
20°
3°
Sunday
Sunny
21°
-1°
Monday
Sunny
22°
0°
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud
19°
—
High and low in degrees Celsius, for Banff, the forecast region covering Lake Louise.
Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Weather warnings in effect
No weather warnings are in effect for the Lake Louise area right now. Warnings appear here within ten minutes of Environment Canada issuing them.
Snow forecast for Lake Louise
No snow appears in Environment Canada's seven-day forecast for the valley right now. That is the valley floor: the high trails and the ski hill sit up to a thousand metres higher and catch snow the station never sees.
For the hill, the resort's own snow report is the number to trust. The ski resort page links to it and explains the temperature gap between the lake and the summit.
Forecasts beyond seven days
There is no honest ten-day or fourteen-day forecast for Lake Louise. Environment Canada issues seven days for a reason: past that, a global model in this terrain is a coin toss dressed as a number. If your trip is more than a week out, plan from the monthly averages below and check back here seven days before you leave.
Lake Louise weather month by month
Average daily high and low in degrees Celsius, from the Environment Canada climate normals for the Lake Louise station. The lake itself sits about two hundred metres higher and runs a few degrees colder.
| Month | High | Low | What it is like |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | -5° | -18° | Deep winter. The lake is frozen and skate-able. |
| February | -2° | -18° | Coldest clear mornings. Best light on the ice. |
| March | 3° | -12° | Longer days, snow still deep on every trail. |
| April | 8° | -6° | Melt starts. The lake is still ice, the roads are wet. |
| May | 13° | -1° | Ice usually clears late in the month. Trails stay snowy. |
| June | 17° | 3° | The lake turns turquoise. Wildflowers start. |
| July | 20° | 5° | Warmest month and the busiest. Arrive before dawn. |
| August | 20° | 4° | Warm days, smoke possible from regional wildfires. |
| September | 15° | -1° | Larch season in the last two weeks. Cold nights. |
| October | 7° | -5° | First lasting snow. Tea houses close. |
| November | -2° | -13° | Freeze-up. The lake usually skins over. |
| December | -7° | -19° | Ski season and the ice castle. Short days. |
Snow forecast for the ski hill
The forecast above covers the valley at 1,540 metres. Lake Louise Ski Resort tops out above 2,600 metres, so it takes snow when the village takes rain, and its totals through a storm run far higher than anything on this page. For a run-by-run snow report in the season, read the resort's own report, which is linked from the webcams page.
The snow depth figure in the panel above is measured at the reporting station near valley level. Treat it as the depth at the road, never as the depth on the mountain.
How cold is the water, and can you swim in it
The lake sits near four degrees Celsius even in August. It is fed directly by glacial meltwater, and that meltwater carries the rock flour that gives the lake its colour, so the cold and the turquoise are the same fact.
Swimming is not banned and people do wade in. Four degrees causes an involuntary gasp within seconds and takes usable strength out of your arms within a minute. There is no lifeguard, no change hut, and the drop-off from the shoreline is quick. Treat it as a photograph, not a swim.
What to wear
Bring a warm layer in every month of the year. Lake Louise sits at 1,540 metres and the lakeshore is in shade until mid-morning, so a July morning at the boathouse can be ten degrees colder than the same hour in Banff. In winter, plan for a windchill well below the reading on this page, and cover every piece of skin below minus twenty-five.
Common questions
Can you swim in Lake Louise?
You can, and almost nobody does for long. The lake is fed by glacial meltwater and sits near four degrees Celsius even in August, which is cold enough to take your breath away within seconds. There is no lifeguard and no change facility.
How cold does Lake Louise get in winter?
Daytime highs average minus five in January and minus two in February, and overnight lows average minus eighteen in both. Cold snaps to minus thirty happen most winters and last a few days.
How cold is the water in Lake Louise?
About four degrees Celsius in summer, because the lake is fed by the Victoria Glacier's meltwater and never has time to warm. It does not change much between June and September, and from November to May it is ice.
Is there a 14-day forecast for Lake Louise?
Not a trustworthy one. Environment Canada stops at seven days, and any site showing a two-week Lake Louise forecast is running a global model that does not know where the mountains are. Past a week, use the month-by-month table on this page, which is thirty years of station data.
When does the lake turn turquoise?
The colour comes from rock flour suspended in glacial meltwater, so it arrives with the melt. The ice usually clears in late May or early June, and the strongest colour is through July and August.
Everything happening at Lake Louise today · Weather at the ski resort, and how to get there