Average weather, temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours
The climate of Yellowknife is cold continental, with long, freezing winters and mild summers.
The city is the capital of the Northwest Territories, and is located at the 62nd parallel north, on the shores of the Great Slave Lake.
On the coldest days of the year, the temperature can drop to -40 °C (-40 °F) or even below. In February 1947, it went down to -51 °C (-60 °F). On the hottest days of the year, it can reach 28/30 °C (82/86 °F).
The
average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of -25.6 °C (-14 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 17 °C (63 °F). Here are the average temperatures.
Yellowknife - Average temperatures| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Min (°C) | -30 | -28 | -23 | -11 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 4 | -4 | -18 | -26 |
|---|
| Max (°C) | -22 | -18 | -11 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 10 | 1 | -10 | -18 |
|---|
| Min (°F) | -22 | -18 | -9 | 12 | 32 | 46 | 55 | 50 | 39 | 25 | 0 | -15 |
|---|
| Max (°F) | -8 | 0 | 12 | 32 | 50 | 64 | 70 | 64 | 50 | 34 | 14 | 0 |
|---|
amounts to 290 millimeters (11.4 inches) per year: it is therefore scarce. It ranges from 10 mm (0.4 in) in the driest month (April) to 40 mm (1.6 in) in the wettest ones (July, August). On average, 158 cm (62 in) of snow fall per year, from September to May. Here is the average precipitation.
Yellowknife - Average precipitation| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Prec.(mm) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 35 | 30 | 25 | 15 | 290 |
|---|
| Prec.(in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1 | 0.6 | 11.4 |
|---|
| Days | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 118 |
|---|
On average, there are around 2,255
sunshine hours per year. The amount of sunshine is good in spring and summer. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Yellowknife - Sunshine| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Hours | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
|---|
Best Time
The best time to visit Yellowknife is summer, from June to August, since it is the mildest season.