Climate
| Climate | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Daily highs °C | -5 | -1 | 6 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 21 | 14 | 4 | -2 |
| Nightly lows °C | -16 | -12 | -7 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 0 | -8 | -14 |
| Precipitation mm | 14 | 9 | 18 | 25 | 46 | 63 | 41 | 33 | 36 | 19 | 15 | 16 |
| See the Medicine Hat 7 day forecast at Environment Canada |
Medicine Hat experiences a semi-arid climate, and is one of the driest cities in Canada. Due to the aridity, it is also one of the sunniest in Canada, with an average of over 2500 sunshine hours annually. Winters November through March are long and cold, but snowfall is low compared to the rest of Canada. Conditions usually alternate between mild and windy, due to chinook winds, and positively frigid temperatures frequently accompanied by clear blue skies and light winds. Spring April and May is short, variable and relatively wet. Snow often occurs in April, and is not unheard of even in late May. Summer June through August is typically hot and dry, often without a single cloud in the sky. However, thunderstorms often interrupt the bright, sunny weather late in the afternoon, and there are always a few days particularly in June with heavily overcast skies in which the temperature only reaches the mid teens °Celsius. Autumn September and October is short and generally mild, though September can bring scorching temperatures in the mid 30s °Celsius, and snow in October is usual. The season typically brings sunny and warm to cool days and cool, sometimes cold nights.
Understand
The city's name comes from the word Saamis, which is a native word that means Medicine Man's Hat. According to the 1983 centennial song "Hats Off to 100 Years!":
In eighteen-eighty-three, the Blackfoot fought the Creein a battle raging on near the South Saskatchewan.In a ritual of defeat, the Medicine Man fell to the groundand laid his feathered headdress down as a legend for our town.