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El Calafate vs Crested Butte
Comparing El Calafate change · Crested Butte change
El Calafate is the warmer of the two — about 6°C on the annual average; Crested Butte is the wetter, with 441 mm more rain a year, and Crested Butte the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between El Calafate and Crested Butte, in everyday terms.
Summers
Crested Butte has much hotter summers
El Calafate: Mild
Crested Butte: Mild
Winters
El Calafate has far milder winters
El Calafate: Cold
Crested Butte: Bitterly cold
Rain & snow
Crested Butte is much wetter
El Calafate: Very dry
Crested Butte: Moderate rainfall
Sky
Crested Butte is sunnier
El Calafate: Often grey
Crested Butte: Partly cloudy
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
El Calafate is the warmer of the two — about 6°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Crested Butte is the wetter — about 441 mm 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 (°C) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | -22 | -20 | -13 | -5 | +6 | +16 | +19 | +16 | +8 | -1 | -12 | -21 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 6 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Difference | -22 | -20 | -13 | -5 | +6 | +16 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Crested Butte | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | +19 | +16 | +8 | -1 | -12 | -21 |
Avg low (°C) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | -2 | -4 | -4 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | -28 | -26 | -18 | -8 | — | +5 | +9 | +6 | — | -7 | -17 | -26 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | -2 | -4 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 |
| Difference | -28 | -26 | -18 | -8 | — | +5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | -4 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Crested Butte | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | +9 | +6 | — | -7 | -17 | -26 |
Precipitation (mm) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 7 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 9 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | +62 | +51 | +37 | +31 | +18 | +9 | +37 | +36 | +38 | +30 | +44 | +48 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 7 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 |
| Difference | +62 | +51 | +37 | +31 | +18 | +9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 9 |
| Crested Butte | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | +37 | +36 | +38 | +30 | +44 | +48 |
Snowfall (cm)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cloud cover (%) El Calafate runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 78 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 80 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -24 | -16 | -17 | -12 | -11 | -26 | -16 | -16 | -31 | -34 | -31 | -27 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 78 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 |
| Difference | -24 | -16 | -17 | -12 | -11 | -26 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 73 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 80 |
| Crested Butte | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -16 | -16 | -31 | -34 | -31 | -27 |
Relative humidity (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 67 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 92 | 91 | 87 | 80 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | +25 | +24 | +15 | -5 | -24 | -40 | -36 | -28 | -23 | -10 | +9 | +22 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 67 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 92 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 |
| Difference | +25 | +24 | +15 | -5 | -24 | -40 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 91 | 87 | 80 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
| Crested Butte | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | -36 | -28 | -23 | -10 | +9 | +22 |
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. El Calafate trends → · Crested Butte trends →
Methodology & sources
El Calafate
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from the WMO's CLINO 1991–2020 collection, measured at El_calafate_aero, about 17 km from the city centre.
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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