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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 11°F on the annual average; Crested Butte is the wetter, with 17 in 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 11°F on the annual average.
Precipitation
Crested Butte is the wetter — about 17 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) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 66 | 67 | 62 | 55 | 48 | 42 | 41 | 44 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 |
| Crested Butte | 26 | 30 | 38 | 47 | 58 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 66 | 55 | 40 | 27 |
| Difference | -40 | -37 | -24 | -9 | +11 | +29 | +35 | +29 | +15 | -2 | -21 | -37 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 66 | 67 | 62 | 55 | 48 | 42 |
| Crested Butte | 26 | 30 | 38 | 47 | 58 | 71 |
| Difference | -40 | -37 | -24 | -9 | +11 | +29 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 41 | 44 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 |
| Crested Butte | 76 | 74 | 66 | 55 | 40 | 27 |
| Difference | +35 | +29 | +15 | -2 | -21 | -37 |
Avg low (°F) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 45 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 29 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 39 | 43 |
| Crested Butte | -6 | -2 | 7 | 19 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 39 | 31 | 22 | 9 | -4 |
| Difference | -51 | -46 | -33 | -15 | -1 | +8 | +15 | +12 | +1 | -12 | -30 | -47 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 45 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 29 | 25 |
| Crested Butte | -6 | -2 | 7 | 19 | 28 | 34 |
| Difference | -51 | -46 | -33 | -15 | -1 | +8 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 24 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 39 | 43 |
| Crested Butte | 39 | 39 | 31 | 22 | 9 | -4 |
| Difference | +15 | +12 | +1 | -12 | -30 | -47 |
Precipitation (in) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Crested Butte | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Difference | +2.5 | +2 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +1.9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Crested Butte | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Difference | +2.5 | +2 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Crested Butte | 2 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Difference | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +1.9 |
Snowfall (in)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 41.7 | 35.3 | 27.3 | 18 | 6.9 | 0.3 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Calafate | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.1 | 26.1 | 34.6 |
| 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.
← change El Calafate · change Crested Butte → · El Calafate page · Crested Butte page