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Lake Louise vs Crested Butte
Comparing Lake Louise change · Crested Butte change
Lake Louise is the warmer of the two — about 2°F on the annual average; Crested Butte is the wetter, with 6 in more rain a year, and Crested Butte the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Lake Louise and Crested Butte, in everyday terms.
Summers
Crested Butte has hotter summers
Lake Louise: Mild
Crested Butte: Mild
Winters
Lake Louise has much milder winters
Lake Louise: Very cold
Crested Butte: Bitterly cold
Rain & snow
Crested Butte is wetter
Lake Louise: Fairly dry
Crested Butte: Moderate rainfall
Sky
Crested Butte is sunnier
Lake Louise: Often cloudy
Crested Butte: Partly cloudy
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Lake Louise is the warmer of the two — about 2°F on the annual average.
Precipitation
Crested Butte is the wetter — about 6 in more across the year.
Clear skies
Crested Butte has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°F) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 26 | 31 | 38 | 48 | 57 | 64 | 73 | 72 | 62 | 48 | 33 | 24 |
| Crested Butte | 26 | 30 | 38 | 47 | 58 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 55 | 40 | 27 |
| Difference | +1 | -1 | — | -1 | +1 | +6 | +3 | +2 | +5 | +7 | +6 | +3 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 26 | 31 | 38 | 48 | 57 | 64 |
| Crested Butte | 26 | 30 | 38 | 47 | 58 | 71 |
| Difference | +1 | -1 | — | -1 | +1 | +6 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 73 | 72 | 62 | 48 | 33 | 24 |
| Crested Butte | 76 | 74 | 66 | 55 | 40 | 27 |
| Difference | +3 | +2 | +5 | +7 | +6 | +3 |
Avg low (°F) Lake Louise runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 8 | 9 | 17 | 25 | 32 | 40 | 44 | 42 | 36 | 28 | 18 | 8 |
| Crested Butte | -6 | -2 | 7 | 19 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 39 | 31 | 22 | 9 | -4 |
| Difference | -14 | -11 | -9 | -6 | -4 | -6 | -5 | -4 | -4 | -6 | -8 | -11 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 8 | 9 | 17 | 25 | 32 | 40 |
| Crested Butte | -6 | -2 | 7 | 19 | 28 | 34 |
| Difference | -14 | -11 | -9 | -6 | -4 | -6 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 44 | 42 | 36 | 28 | 18 | 8 |
| Crested Butte | 39 | 39 | 31 | 22 | 9 | -4 |
| Difference | -5 | -4 | -4 | -6 | -8 | -11 |
Precipitation (in) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1 |
| Crested Butte | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Difference | +1.9 | +1.8 | +1 | +0.5 | -0.4 | -1.8 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +1.3 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.8 |
| Crested Butte | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Difference | +1.9 | +1.8 | +1 | +0.5 | -0.4 | -1.8 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1 |
| Crested Butte | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Difference | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +1.3 |
Snowfall (in)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 41.7 | 35.3 | 27.3 | 18 | 6.9 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.1 | 26.1 | 34.6 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 41.7 | 35.3 | 27.3 | 18 | 6.9 | 0.3 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.1 | 26.1 | 34.6 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cloud cover (%) Lake Louise runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 68 | 67 | 68 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 58 | 58 | 61 | 67 | 68 | 65 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -14 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -10 | -24 | -1 | — | -16 | -23 | -19 | -12 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 68 | 67 | 68 | 71 | 71 | 70 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 |
| Difference | -14 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -10 | -24 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 58 | 58 | 61 | 67 | 68 | 65 |
| Crested Butte | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -1 | — | -16 | -23 | -19 | -12 |
Relative humidity (%) Lake Louise runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 96 | 96 | 95 | 89 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 83 | 94 | 96 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | -4 | -3 | -6 | -13 | -12 | -23 | -16 | -12 | -18 | -20 | -17 | -7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 96 | 96 | 95 | 89 | 76 | 75 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 |
| Difference | -4 | -3 | -6 | -13 | -12 | -23 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Louise | 72 | 71 | 74 | 83 | 94 | 96 |
| Crested Butte | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | -16 | -12 | -18 | -20 | -17 | -7 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Lake Louise trends → · Crested Butte trends →
Methodology & sources
Lake Louise
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 26 years of daily observations at Banff CS, a weather station, about 51 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
Crested Butte
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Crested Butte, a weather station, about 1 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
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