Yellowknife climate — normals and trends
Yellowknife (Canada) has a subarctic climate (Dfc) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is -4.6 °C and it receives 251 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (16.4 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-26.6 °C). Rainfall peaks in August.
Yellowknife averages 218 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 62 rainy days per year.
Yellowknife has warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.26 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 32.2 °C (on 18 July 1941) and the coldest -49.9 °C (on 1 February 1947).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
YellowknifeNorthwest Territories
- coords
- 62.45°, -114.37°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
-4.6°C
Average daily high
-1.0°C
Average daily low
-8.3°C
Annual rainfall
251mm
Sunshine / day
8.6h
Mean relative humidity
72%
Average peak wind
17.3km/h
Seasonal range
43.0°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
218 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
62 d/yr
Annual snowfall
66.2 cm
Average feels-like high
-5.1 °C
Average feels-like low
-12.7 °C
Average peak gust
32.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
10.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.2 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.22 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
32.2 °C
18 July 1941
Coldest day
-49.9 °C
1 February 1947
Wettest day
41 mm
22 July 1961
Windiest day
44.1 km/h
24 December 1999
Strongest gust
87.8 km/h
28 April 1972
Hottest feels-like
33.6 °C
18 July 1941
Coldest feels-like
-55.6 °C
1 February 1947
Snowiest day
11.6 cm
1 October 2000
Sunniest day
19.1 h
26 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -17.6 °C | +5.9 °C | 13 mm | +3 mm |
| Feb | -20.2 °C | +0.6 °C | 9 mm | +2 mm |
| Mar | -14.6 °C | -1.6 °C | 4 mm | -5 mm |
| Apr | -0.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 14 mm | +2 mm |
| May | 12.8 °C | +3.3 °C | 13 mm | -6 mm |
| Jun | 17.9 °C | +1.1 °C | 14 mm | -10 mm |
| Jul | 20.1 °C | -0.2 °C | 47 mm | +9 mm |
| Aug | 21.1 °C | +3.2 °C | 20 mm | -23 mm |
| Sep | 15.3 °C | +4.7 °C | 25 mm | -10 mm |
| Oct | 4.8 °C | +3.1 °C | 32 mm | +6 mm |
| Nov | -6.5 °C | +3.6 °C | 23 mm | +6 mm |
| Dec | -24.9 °C | -5.1 °C | 7 mm | -4 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Yellowknife?
Yellowknife has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is -4.6 °C and it receives 251 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Yellowknife?
The hottest day measured in Yellowknife between 1940 and 2025 was 18 July 1941, reaching 32.2 °C.
What is the coldest day in Yellowknife?
The coldest day measured in Yellowknife between 1940 and 2025 was 1 February 1947, at -49.9 °C.
Does it snow in Yellowknife?
Yes. Yellowknife gets on average 66.2 cm of snow per year and has around 218 frost days.
Has the climate of Yellowknife warmed?
Yes: Yellowknife warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Yellowknife?
The wettest day measured in Yellowknife between 1940 and 2025 was 22 July 1961, with 41 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Yellowknife?
The windiest day measured in Yellowknife between 1940 and 2025 was 24 December 1999, with winds reaching 44.1 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Yellowknife?
The warmest month in Yellowknife is July (16.4 °C on average); the coldest is January (-26.6 °C).
How much does it rain in Yellowknife?
Yellowknife receives on average 251 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 62 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Yellowknife?
Yellowknife gets on average 8.6 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,139 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Yellowknife?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Yellowknife between 1940 and 2025 was 1 October 2000, with 11.6 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Yellowknife?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Yellowknife.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Yellowknife?
In Yellowknife, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.6 °C on 18 July 1941, and the lowest was -55.6 °C on 1 February 1947.
Compare Yellowknife with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.