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Current Weather Conditions:
Environment Canada Current Satellite Images:
  
Hours of Sunshine per year: 2344.3 hrs
Frost Free Days: 123
Precipitation
Summer
(June to August) - Average Temperature 16.1C (61.2F)
Spring and Fall
Average Temperature 11.3C (52.3F)
Generally, spring occurs in April and May and fall occurs from September to October. Expect a lot of sun during the day and very cool temperatures at night. Daytime temperature can also fluctuate drastically, so pack for cold and hot weather - even for day trips.
Winter
(October to April) - Average Temperature -2.3C (27.9F)
  
Chinookwinds tend to moderate these chilly conditions. Chinooks typically last for a couple of days, during which time the snow melts very quickly. Once the Chinook passes, the water refreezes and the roads and sidewalks can get very icy. For this reason, sanding trucks are a common sight in southern Alberta during the winter months.
Safe Driving Tip: The best way to handle icy roads is to slow down well before stopping or turning, and to accelerate very slowly when starting from a complete stop. Information on local road conditions can be found here: http://www.ama.ab.ca/road_report/Southern.htm
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FUN WEATHER FACTS: Sunscreen Science:
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The Canadian Prairies get about 2,400 hours of bright sunlight a year. Most people think that summer is the best season of all for recreational activity and exercising, and having fun is all part of a healthy lifestyle, but play it safe! - what you don't know CAN hurt you!
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For instance, most of us know that sunscreen is a must for safe outdoor activity, but how about the science of sunscreen application? You can use sunblocks, opaque creams or pastes which prevent any light from reaching the skin; or you can use sunscreens which filter out some UV rays to varying degrees and absorb others.
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 avoid repeated over-exposure to the sun, especially between 10AM and 3PM.
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you need a sunscreen with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 15 or higher (15 will absorb 93% of UV rays). Always put sunscreen on at least 20 minutes before exposure to the sun to allow active ingredients to be absorbed. Reapply sunscreen every 60-90 minutes. Always wear protective clothing.
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suntanning machines are just as dangerous as the sun. If you have a tan, your suntan only provides the equivalent of SPF 3.
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no sunscreen absorbs all the sun's rays - if you stay out long enought you will burn.
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Why is our skin so important?
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The skin is the largest organ of the body, weighing about 3 to 4 kilograms and measuring around 2 square metres. It does a number of critical things for our bodies, such as protection from injury and germs, regulation of body temperature and water proofing.
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FUN WEATHER FACTS: How shocking - the truth about lightning:
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Imagine that you are inside a cumulonimbus cloud, the stage for a thunder and lighting performance. Inside these turbulent storm clouds, friction between rapidly moving ice crystals and water droplets causes static electricity to build. When the cloud discharges this electricity we see a lightning bolt as a streak of light across the sky, into the sky or to the ground. A single cumulonimbus can become charged with up to 500 million volts of electricity (the power of about 35 million flashlight batteries). The lightning bolt will momentarily heat the air to 30,000 degrees Celsius (that's 5 times hotter than thte surface of the sun) and yet, lightning bolts are only 3 - 4 cm wide.
Going up? Or is it? – which way does lightning travel? From cloud down or from the ground up?
- When a storm cloud discharges electricity to Earth, a leader stroke hits something – a tree, a pole, a barn or the ground. This completes the circuit and a lightning bolt roars UP the established path.
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Thunder always follows:
The tremendous sound is a result of heat from the lightning forcing the air to expand and move very quickly. The moving air makes sound waves which we hear as thunder.
TRY THIS: Oh Lightning, how close are thee to me?
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The next time there is a storm, pay close attention to the thunder and lightning. You’ll probably notice that you hear the thunder after you see lightning. It seems that thunder always follows lightning, but why? Actually, while we think lightning and thunder happen separately, they really occur together, but because light travels at 300,00 km/second and sound travels at 0.343 km/second, we sense the lightning first then the thunder. Wait for a flash of lightning, then immediately time the seconds it takes before you hear thunder. If you don’t have a watch, count: “one- thunder, two- thunder, three-thunder…”, and so on, until you hear the rumbling. Divide the number of seconds by three, and the answer is the distance in kilometers that you are from the lightning you saw.
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Click here to learn more about the communities in Vulcan County.
Star Trek Fact: Planet Vulcan vs. Vulcan County, Alberta
Culture and Language
Public Holidays
County Services
How to get here by Land, Air ... and space??
Vulcan County's Wildlife: Flora & Fauna
Agriculture in Vulcan County
Water & Irrigation in Vulcan County
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