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.
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 |
Nearest destinations
Head-to-head
How Yellowknife compares month by month: Yellowknife vs Grande Prairie · Yellowknife vs Fort McMurray · Yellowknife vs Fort Saint John · all comparisons
Yellowknife: questions and answers
What kind of destination is Yellowknife?
Yellowknife is a small town in Canada with a subarctic climate.
How many hours of sunshine does Yellowknife get a year?
Yellowknife gets about 2,150 hours of sunshine a year, at its best around July.
When is the best time to visit Yellowknife?
The sunniest time to visit Yellowknife is July, when the Sunshine Score peaks at 80/100. Expect daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F.
What is the least sunny month in Yellowknife?
January is the least sunny month in Yellowknife, scoring 0/100 with about 21 mm of rain.
How strong is the sun in Yellowknife?
The typical midday UV index in Yellowknife peaks around 4 (moderate) in June, easing to about 0 (low) in January. Month-by-month midday UV values are in the UV column of the table on this page.
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