Погода: Калгари, апрель

Banff-forum threads on an April visit call this genuinely shoulder season, posters describing spring skiing still running even as summer hiking and sightseeing haven't properly started. Regulars call weather here unpredictable enough to swing from a warm, sunny day to a real cold snap within the same week. Posters call the town of Banff itself early spring by April, some snow lingering early in the month though usually gone by month's end barring a fresh storm. Regulars call the mountains a very different story, real winter conditions persisting at mid and higher elevations through the month. Posters call the Icefields Parkway effectively closed this time of year, trails along it still snowbound. Regulars recommend snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or even dog sledding as realistic April activities depending on conditions. The record: 9.5C days feeling like 8C, -3.7C nights, an extraordinarily high 55.6mm across nearly 12 days and 61 percent humidity.

Regulars are specific this counts as genuinely unpredictable weather even by Alberta standards, Calgary singled out as getting hit worst by the freak spring snowstorms that can still show up this month despite an otherwise low overall snow chance. Our row backs that cool, genuinely wet read, 18C over 4.4C nights feeling as low as 2C, with 47.6mm of rain across 8.1 days and real snow, 3cm, still possible. Regulars are consistent the third and fourth weeks of the month into the first week of June are generally rated the safer stretch, sunshine, snow and rain all realistic within the same week regardless of when a trip lands. Layers built for a genuinely wide temperature swing remain the standard advice throughout. The record: 11.7 hours of sun, humidity 59 percent and AQI 54.

June is the rainiest month of the year here, which regulars are careful to explain rather than apologise for: real downpours are unusual, the bad case is a day of showers, and it is entirely possible to get clear hot summer weather instead. Our 84.3mm across 11 days sits beside 12.6 hours of sun inside 16.5 of daylight, which is the same story. Days average 21.6C and nights fall to 8.3C on dry air - 62 percent humidity, a dew point of 5.2C - so the evening needs a layer whatever the afternoon did. The stampede is the second week of July, so June is the month before the city fills. The record: a 16 kph wind and AQI 47.

Regulars make a claim that sounds like exaggeration and is not: there is snow at least once every September here, and nobody knows which day. Our row agrees, carrying 2.3cm for the month. The rest follows from the same instability - four seasons in a day, shorts one afternoon and a shovel the next, and chinooks bringing warm air over the mountains at unpredictable moments. Much of the month is genuinely fine at 15 to 20C, and our 19.5C days over 5.8C nights that feel like 3C bracket it. September beats October on the odds. Layers, always. The record: 27.3mm across 4.8 days, 9.6 hours of sun and AQI 41.

July is Calgary's warmest month and the one the Stampede sits in, and the forum's advice is built around a long day outdoors. Regulars give low-to-mid 20s by day - our row says 24.7C - cooling off properly at night, and tell people to be ready for rain regardless. So: shorts and a t-shirt for the grounds, layers that come off easily, a jacket or a sweater for the evening, rain gear in the bag, a hat, and footwear you can stand up in all day. Dress runs from full cowboy to shorts and tank tops and nobody minds either. The practical note they repeat is to carry water, because it is four dollars a bottle inside. The record: 11.2C nights that feel like 9C, 8.2 precipitation days carrying 63.4mm and 12.9 hours of sun.