Yellowknife weather by month & the best time to visit
Canada · small town · subarctic climate
The best time to visit Yellowknife is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 80/100). Yellowknife averages about 2,150 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F and roughly 62 mm of rain in July.
Jump to: month-by-month table · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 2,150
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 80/100
- Rain / year
- 411 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈1.4 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 4 (moderate)
- Population
- 20k
- Elevation
- 204 m
When is the best time to visit Yellowknife?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Yellowknife is July. The dullest month is January (0/100, 21 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Yellowknife?
Yellowknife gets a moderate 2,150 hours of sunshine a year. 80 Sunshine Score points separate July (80) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #90 of 242 destinations in Canada for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,024 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around July, carries about 42% of the annual 411 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | -26° / -15°F | -33° / -27°F | 21 mm | 0 |
| February | 0 | -22° / -8°F | -31° / -24°F | 14 mm | 0 |
| March | 0 | -14° / 7°F | -23° / -9°F | 20 mm | 1 |
| April | 0 | -2° / 28°F | -11° / 12°F | 19 mm | 2 |
| May | 14 | 10° / 50°F | 2° / 36°F | 44 mm | 3 |
| June | 68 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 55 mm | 4 |
| July | 80 | 21° / 70°F | 14° / 57°F | 62 mm | 4 |
| August | 68 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 56 mm | 3 |
| September | 14 | 10° / 50°F | 4° / 39°F | 47 mm | 2 |
| October | 0 | -2° / 28°F | -7° / 19°F | 29 mm | 0 |
| November | 0 | -17° / 1°F | -24° / -11°F | 25 mm | 0 |
| December | 0 | -24° / -11°F | -31° / -24°F | 19 mm | 0 |
Nearby places for sunshine
- Fort McMurray Canada · 671 km · best in Aug · 2,171 h sun/yr
- Fort Saint John Canada · 778 km · best in Aug · 2,300 h sun/yr
- Grande Prairie Canada · 849 km · best in Aug · 2,366 h sun/yr
- Edmonton Canada · 1,019 km · best in Aug · 2,549 h sun/yr
- Whitehorse Canada · 1,104 km · best in Jul · 1,919 h sun/yr
- Juneau United States · 1,190 km · best in Jul · 1,229 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Whatì Canada · 161 km · 2,282 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Wekweètì Canada · 193 km · 2,335 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Lutselk'e Canada · 193 km · 2,121 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Hay River Canada · 194 km · 2,272 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Gamètì Canada · 233 km · 2,246 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Yellowknife compares month by month: Yellowknife vs Grande Prairie · Yellowknife vs Fort McMurray · Yellowknife vs Fort Saint John · all comparisons
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