Lefsruds Honest Auto Inc
- Engine Repair & Diagnostics
- Inspection & Maintenance
- Exhaust & Muffler Repair
- Tire Shops
- Brake Repair
- Auto Electrical & Battery
243089 16 St E
11.5 km from Okotoks centre
The usual date from thirty years of Environment and Climate Change Canada records, this week’s forecast, and what a changeover costs.
In Okotoks the daily mean temperature typically falls to 7 °C around October 7 and rises above it again around April 30, in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport), 44 km from Okotoks. That is 205 days, about 7 months, on winter tires. Listed shops post a changeover on rims at $40 to $109 (checked ).
Describe the job once. Local shops reply with their own prices.
No day in this forecast averages 7 °C or below.
| Day | High | Low | Mean | At or below 7 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Sep 30 | 15 | 1 | 8 | No |
| Thu, Oct 1 | 14 | 3 | 8.5 | No |
| Fri, Oct 2 | 17 | 1 | 9 | No |
| Sat, Oct 3 | 16 | 0 | 8 | No |
| Sun, Oct 4 | 16 | 7 | 11.5 | No |
| Mon, Oct 5 | 27 | 7 | 17 | No |
| Tue, Oct 6 | 21 | – | – | No |
Mean is the day’s high and the following night’s low, averaged; a dash means the forecast does not reach that night yet. Full forecast for Okotoks on weather.gc.ca.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Transport Canada says that below 7 °C all-season and summer tires begin to lose elasticity, and with it traction. So the question is when a typical day in Okotoks stops reaching a 7 °C average, and when it starts again.
ECCC publishes its 1991–2020 normals by month. Each month’s mean is placed at the middle of the month and the days between are joined by a straight line; the switch dates are where that line crosses 7 °C. It is an interpolation, so treat the day as “early October” and “late April” rather than a deadline, and let the forecast above have the last word. ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals for one station in the Calgary area, at the airport, so the same dates serve Okotoks.
| Month | Daily mean | Daily high | Daily low | Snowfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 11.5 | 18.3 | 4.7 | 2.2 |
| October | 4.9 | 11.1 | −1.3 | 11.5 |
| November | −1.7 | 4.1 | −7.5 | 18.8 |
| March | −2.2 | 3.8 | −8.1 | 23.8 |
| April | 4.5 | 10.8 | −1.9 | 22.9 |
| May | 9.9 | 16.4 | 3.4 | 9.6 |
Not in Alberta. The rules that do reach Calgary drivers are on the roads west of the city and in other provinces.
When shopping, Transport Canada’s advice is to look for the peaked mountain with snowflake symbol, which marks tires that meet a snow traction test, and to fit them as a set of four. The Calgary winter tire guide covers the markings, tread depth and storage.
It costs less when your winter tires are on their own rims: every shop below that posts both prices charges more to dismount one set of tires and mount the other on the same rims.
| Shop | Swap on rims | Off rims (dismount and remount) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darcy’s AutoServices | $40 | $80, balancing included | Shop’s price list |
| R&A Car Care Center | $40 | Not posted | Shop’s price list |
| Raybern Motors Balancing listed separately, $65 + GST. | $65 + GST | $130 + GST | Shop’s price list |
| Gizmo’s Garage Mobile. | $70 | Not posted | Shop’s price list |
| TireSwaps Mobile: done at your home or office. | $109 | Not posted | Shop’s price list |
Copied as each shop words it: “+ GST” means GST is extra, and a price without it is one whose page does not say. None of these pages gives a season or a date, so confirm the price with the shop; your car, its wheel size and its tire pressure sensors can change it, which is why a price for your car comes as a quote.
243089 16 St E
11.5 km from Okotoks centre
52 Legacy Glen Manor SE
14.6 km from Okotoks centre
Comes to you
Base location: 680 Belmont St SW #3108
16.8 km from Okotoks centre
3570 Market St
17.2 km from Okotoks centre
Once the daily mean temperature stays at or below 7 °C. In the 1991–2020 normals for Calgary (Airport), the station nearest Okotoks with published normals, that is around October 7. A cold snap can arrive earlier, so check the forecast on this page before you book.
The same normals put the daily mean back above 7 °C around April 30. Spring snow is common: April averages 22.9 cm of snowfall at the station, and its average last spring snowfall is May 8, so tires changed before May can still meet snow.
No. Alberta has no winter tire law. Parks Canada and British Columbia do require winter tires or chains on some mountain highways, including the Trans-Canada Highway through Yoho National Park, west of Banff, from October 1 to April 30.
It depends on whether your winter tires are already on their own rims. Among shops in this directory that post a price on their website, a swap on rims is $40 to $109 and a dismount-and-remount is $80 to $130. For a price for your car, describe it once and local shops reply with their own.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Climate normals and forecasts are used under the ECCC Data Server End-use Licence.