Crescent Heights, Calgary: winter sun, snow and spring melt

Calgary · typical year 2016–2025

Compared with 133 Calgary communities, Crescent Heights gets less December sun than most along its residential streets (median 0.3 h on December 21, city median 1.3 h), has more snow on the ground than most in March, and more spring ponding than most in a typical year (LandMood model, 2016–2025).

Crescent Heights is one of Calgary's inner-city communities, with older homes and mature trees.

Winter sun

On December 21, the ground along Crescent Heights' residential streets gets a median of 0.3 h of direct sun, less than the 1.3 h median across Calgary's communities (the 20th least sunny of 133).

On December 21, about 50% of Crescent Heights' street-side ground gets under half an hour of direct sun (city median 40%).

LandMood map of December sun hours in Crescent Heights, Calgary, without street names
Hours of direct sun on a December day in Crescent Heights. Dark areas get almost none.

Which way homes face

Most residential streets here run east–west (about 59% of street length), so homes mostly face north or south: roughly half of those homes have a north-facing front, with a shaded driveway and a sunnier back yard in winter.

Snow and spring melt

In March, about 77% of Crescent Heights' street-side ground still holds 5 cm of snow or more in a typical year (city median 70%).

During spring melt, the model expects water to pool (1 cm or more) on about 7% of the street-side and open ground in Crescent Heights (city median 5%), the 18th most prone to spring ponding of 133.

Buying a home in Crescent Heights: what winter looks like

If you are looking at homes in Crescent Heights or thinking of living there, expect less winter sun than most of Calgary on the ground along its streets: a median of 0.3 h of direct sun on December 21, against 1.3 h for the city.

Most streets in Crescent Heights run east–west, so on those streets many homes face north. A north-facing home usually has its front yard, driveway and front steps in the house's own shadow from about November to February, while its back yard is more likely to get the low sun. A south-facing home is the reverse.

Crescent Heights has more snow on the ground in March than most communities and more spring ponding than most in our model. Wherever a driveway or walk sits in shade, snow tends to stay longer, and melt water that runs across it in the day can refreeze at night.

Homes here are older, and older communities often have mature trees, which add shade in winter as well as summer.

At a viewing, check:

  • which way the front of the house faces;
  • whether the driveway and front steps are in shade around midday;
  • where snow has piled up and where melt water has stood or refrozen;
  • where the downspouts empty and whether the yard slopes away from the house.

The full list is in buying a house in Calgary in winter.

Within Crescent Heights, two homes on the same street can differ more than Crescent Heights differs from the rest of Calgary. Put the home you are looking at on the map to see its own front yard, back yard and driveway.

Compared with its neighbours

Along its residential streets Crescent Heights gets 0.9 h less direct sun on December 21 than neighbouring Renfrew (0.3 h against 1.2 h).

CommunitySun, Dec 21 (median)5 cm+ snow in MarchSpring ponding
Crescent Heights0.3 h77%7%
Mount Pleasant0.0 h78%4%
Renfrew1.2 h68%7%
Rosedale0.7 h78%5%
Tuxedo Park0.5 h74%6%

Compared with the rest of Calgary

MeasureCrescent HeightsCalgary medianRank
Direct sun on Dec 21, street-side ground (median)0.3 h1.3 h114th of 133
Street-side ground with under 30 min of sun on Dec 2150%40%20th of 133
Street-side ground with 5 cm+ of snow in March77%70%32nd of 133
Ground where melt water pools in spring (1 cm+)7%5%18th of 133
Residential streets running east–west59%42%7th of 133

Rank 1 is the highest value among 133 residential communities with enough data. See which ones get the most and least December sun in the Calgary winter sun ranking.

How these numbers are made

LandMood follows the sun hour by hour over 1-metre public lidar of the real houses and trees (Natural Resources Canada) with ten years of weather (2016–2025). For this page we sampled the ground along residential streets (boulevards, front yards and driveways as a band, never a single home) and open ground away from buildings, across the whole community. Snow and water are modelled tendencies shown as shares and bands, not measurements.

Questions people ask

How much winter sun does Crescent Heights, Calgary get?

On December 21 the ground along residential streets in Crescent Heights gets a median of 0.3 h of direct sun in LandMood's model, against 1.3 h for the median community in Calgary. Individual homes vary with the direction they face, trees and neighbouring houses.

Do homes in Crescent Heights face north or south?

Most residential streets here run east–west (about 59% of street length), so homes mostly face north or south: roughly half of those homes have a north-facing front, with a shaded driveway and a sunnier back yard in winter. Check a specific home on the map before you decide.

What should I check when buying a home in Crescent Heights in winter?

Check which way the front of the house faces, whether the driveway and front steps are in shade around midday, where snow piles up and melt water stands or refreezes, and where the downspouts empty. In LandMood's model the ground along Crescent Heights' residential streets gets a median of 0.3 h of direct sun on December 21 (city median 1.3 h), but two homes on the same street can differ more than that, so check the specific home on the map.

Does snow last long in Crescent Heights?

In March, about 77% of Crescent Heights' street-side ground still holds 5 cm of snow or more in a typical year (city median 70%). Shaded ground on the north side of houses and trees keeps snow longest.