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Yellowknife, Northwest Territories climate
Dfc Subarctic
Yellowknife has a strongly seasonal subarctic climate (Subarctic, Köppen Dfc). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 71°F, while the coldest is January averaging around −21°F at night. Around 11 inches of precipitation falls each year, peaking in September (1.7 inches) and easing off in February (0.4 inches). Snowfall is heavy (61 inches of snow per year on average). At latitude 62°N, day length swings from 4.5 hours in midwinter to 19.4 hours at midsummer.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresHours of sunshine per day
Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)Yellowknife climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | −7 | 0 | 13 | 33 | 50 | 65 | 71 | 65 | 52 | 35 | 16 | 1 |
| Avg temp (°F) | −14 | −8 | 2 | 23 | 41 | 57 | 63 | 58 | 46 | 30 | 10 | −6 |
| Avg low (°F) | −21 | −16 | −9 | 12 | 32 | 48 | 55 | 51 | 40 | 25 | 3 | −13 |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| Snowfall (in) | 8.6 | 6.3 | 7.8 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.0 | — | — | 1.3 | 8.3 | 14.4 | 9.6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | −7 | 0 | 13 | 33 | 50 | 65 |
| Avg temp (°F) | −14 | −8 | 2 | 23 | 41 | 57 |
| Avg low (°F) | −21 | −16 | −9 | 12 | 32 | 48 |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| Snowfall (in) | 8.6 | 6.3 | 7.8 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 71 | 65 | 52 | 35 | 16 | 1 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 63 | 58 | 46 | 30 | 10 | −6 |
| Avg low (°F) | 55 | 51 | 40 | 25 | 3 | −13 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| Snowfall (in) | — | — | 1.3 | 8.3 | 14.4 | 9.6 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 60 | 54 | 51 | 54 | 62 | 60 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 75 | 71 | 61 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 95 | 96 | 95 | 90 | 75 | 67 | 64 | 69 | 78 | 90 | 95 | 96 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 60 | 54 | 51 | 54 | 62 | 60 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 95 | 96 | 95 | 90 | 75 | 67 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 63 | 64 | 67 | 75 | 71 | 61 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 64 | 69 | 78 | 90 | 95 | 96 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 8.3 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 22 years of daily observations at Yellowknife A, a weather station, about 4 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.