Bighorn Dam
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) |
Bighorn Dam (or Bighorn Hydro Plant) is a dam located in Clearwater County in west-central Alberta, Canada. It was built by TransAlta Corporation in 1972, and led to the creation of Lake Abraham, Alberta's largest man-made lake.
The plant is one of two TransAlta hydroelectric plants on the North Saskatchewan River System in Alberta. The Bighorn Plant generates more electricity each year than any of TransAlta's other hydro plants, enough to supply the equivalent of 58,300 Alberta households.
The Bighorn embankment dam was built in 1972 in the mountain gap at Windy Point, in the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, west of the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River and the Bighorn River.
Climate
| Climate data for Bighorn Dam | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) |
15.5 (59.9) |
21.0 (69.8) |
25.0 (77.0) |
29.0 (84.2) |
33.3 (91.9) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
31.1 (88.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
15.5 (59.9) |
33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) |
1.0 (33.8) |
4.3 (39.7) |
9.3 (48.7) |
14.1 (57.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.7 (69.3) |
15.7 (60.3) |
9.9 (49.8) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.2 (19.0) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
2.8 (37.0) |
7.5 (45.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
14.2 (57.6) |
13.5 (56.3) |
8.6 (47.5) |
3.7 (38.7) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.2 (8.2) |
−12.4 (9.7) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
0.9 (33.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
7.2 (45.0) |
6.2 (43.2) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −44.5 (−48.1) |
−43.5 (−46.3) |
−36.1 (−33.0) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−30.5 (−22.9) |
−38.0 (−36.4) |
−40.0 (−40.0) |
−44.5 (−48.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 16.6 (0.65) |
12.8 (0.50) |
20.9 (0.82) |
31.3 (1.23) |
61.3 (2.41) |
83.7 (3.30) |
77.3 (3.04) |
74.1 (2.92) |
59.3 (2.33) |
32.1 (1.26) |
18.3 (0.72) |
15.4 (0.61) |
503.1 (19.81) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.6 (0.02) |
0.7 (0.03) |
2.1 (0.08) |
10.1 (0.40) |
47.7 (1.88) |
83.2 (3.28) |
77.3 (3.04) |
74.0 (2.91) |
48 (1.9) |
12.5 (0.49) |
1.9 (0.07) |
1.2 (0.05) |
359.1 (14.14) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 16.0 (6.3) |
12.5 (4.9) |
19.0 (7.5) |
21.3 (8.4) |
13.6 (5.4) |
0.6 (0.2) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.0) |
11.3 (4.4) |
19.7 (7.8) |
16.4 (6.5) |
14.2 (5.6) |
144.5 (56.9) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 7.3 | 5.7 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 11.8 | 13.8 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 11.3 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 112.0 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 9.5 | 13.8 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 10.0 | 3.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 68.8 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 7.2 | 5.5 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 44.2 |
| Source 1: Environment Canada[1] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Precipitation Days Only[2] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010". Environment Canada. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000". Environment Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2012.