Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway 170 kilometres west from Moose Jaw, and 218 kilometres east from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current's history began with Swift Current Creek which originates at Cypress Hills and traverses 160 km of prairie and empties into the South Saskatchewan River.
The settlement of Swift Current was established in 1883, after the CPR surveyed a railway line as far as Swift Current Creek. Swift Current is home to Saskatchewan's oldest operating theatre: the Lyric Theatre, built in 1912 at a cost of $50,000 is the "crown jewel" of Swift Current's historical downtown buildings, with instantly recognizable advertisements painted on the north and south sides of the building dating back to the early 1920s.
Swift Current experiences a humid continental climate that does not fall far from being classified as semi-arid. Winters are long, dry, and cold, while summers are short, warm, and relatively wet. The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of −10.1 °C, while the warmest month is July, with a mean temperature of 18.2 °C. The driest month is February, with an average of 11.8 mm of precipitation, while the wettest month is June, with an average of 77 mm. Annual precipitation is low, with an average of 392.5 mm. Its location in southwest Saskatchewan gives it slightly milder winters than the provincial capital, Regina, even though it is higher in elevation. Chinook winds happen several times a year allowing residents to enjoy unseasonably warm weather for short periods of time.
