Photo: David Adamec · Public domain

Climate in Behchokò · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Behchokò has some of the coldest winter nights among Canadian towns

On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 22.4°C. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 52°C. Counting rain and snow together, it is drier than almost every Canadian town. Plan for rain or snow on about 66 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.

July afternoons: cooler than 96% of Canadian towns

January nights: colder than almost every Canadian town

Rain and snow a year: drier than almost every Canadian town

Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for Behchokò come from Whati, 69 km north-west, so take them as the area’s climate.

July high

22.4°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−29.4°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

294 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

155 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

237

a year at 0°C or below

A year in Behchokò at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−21°C−29°CColdest nights

Feb−17°C−28°C

Mar−10°C−25°C

Apr1°C−13°C

May12°C−1°C

Jun20°C7°C

Jul22°C10°CWarmest

Aug19°C7°CWettest

Sep12°C2°C

Oct1°C−6°C

Nov now−10°C−19°CSnowiest

Dec−18°C−27°C

What stands out about Behchokò’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories beside it.

A wider year than almost every Canadian townFrom January nights to July afternoons, the year spans 51.8°C.Colder than almost every Canadian townJanuary nights average −29.4°C, the coldest of the year. 3rd mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories.Drier than almost every Canadian townAbout 294 mm of rain and melted snow a year; August is the wettest month and February the driest. 2nd wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories.

A normal year

What a year in Behchokò feels like

Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.

Winter

−19°C / −28°C

41 mm, with 62 cm of snow

Spring

1°C / −13°C

42 mm, with 34 cm of snow

Summer

20°C / 8°C

113 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

1°C / −7°C

98 mm, with 60 cm of snow

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

−21°C−29°C

−17°C−28°C

−10°C−25°C

1°C−13°C

12°C−1°C

20°C7°C

22°C10°C

19°C7°C

12°C2°C

1°C−6°C

−10°C−19°C

−18°C−27°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJulHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

About 237 frosts and 53 warm days a year

From August to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 114 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.

237

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than almost every Canadian town

174

Days that stay below 0°C

114

Nights a year below −20°C

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

Rain and melted snow: about 294 mm a year

The most falls in August, the least in February. 2nd wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories.

294 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than almost every Canadian town

180 mm

Of it as rain alone (61%)

44 mm

August, the wettest month

11 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

44 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

44 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Whati publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, so these figures, and the snow below, come from Yellowknife (Airport), 92 km away.

Snow

155 cm of snow in a typical year

The snow season runs September to May; November brings the most, about 37 cm. The snowiest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories.

155 cm

Snowfall a year

Snowier than 60% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

37 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Behchokò

87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.

8,260 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,020 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. A house here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.

Living here

Living with Behchokò’s climate

The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.

Get outside

The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jul.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Roughly 140 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.

Humidex

Summer brings about 4 days when the humidex passes 30.

Storms and extremes

Thirty-year normals hide the storms and the extremes: the hazards page has Behchokò’s risks.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Whati

Whati is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.

Distance from the town	69 km north-west
Station altitude	271 m
Completeness	at least 20 years
WMO standard normals	No
Precipitation from	Yellowknife (Airport), 92 km
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−48.4°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	34.4°C
Average wind	9.9 km/h on average, most often from the east
Next-nearest location	Yellowknife (Airport), 92 km

Compared with other towns

How Behchokò compares

Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in the Northwest Territories.

July afternoons22.4°C

BehchokòMedian Canadian town

18°C20°C22°C24°C26°C

Cooler than 96% of Canadian townsThe warmest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories

January nights−29.4°C

BehchokòMedian Canadian town

−30°C−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Colder than almost every Canadian town3rd mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories

Rain and snow a year294 mm

BehchokòMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than almost every Canadian town2nd wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories

Snowfall a year155 cm

BehchokòMedian Canadian town

0100200300

Snowier than 60% of Canadian townsThe snowiest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Behchokò’s would only repeat its figures. Behchokò has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 95 km away.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Behchokò Whati	22.4°C	−29.4°C	294 mm
Yellowknife 95 km · Yellowknife (Airport)	21.5°C 0.9°C cooler	−29.4°C about the same	294 mm

Month by month

Behchokò weather by month

Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.

Month	High	Low	Mean	Rain & snow	Snow
January	−20.6°C	−29.4°C	−25.1°C	15 mm	22 cm
February	−16.9°C	−28.2°C	−22.6°C	11 mm	16 cm
March	−10.3°C	−24.9°C	−17.6°C	14 mm	19 cm
April	1.3°C	−13.4°C	−6.0°C	12 mm	10 cm
May	11.7°C	−0.5°C	5.6°C	16 mm	5 cm
June	19.5°C	7.4°C	13.5°C	29 mm	0 cm
July	22.4°C	10.4°C	16.4°C	40 mm	0 cm
August	18.8°C	7.4°C	13.1°C	44 mm	0 cm
September	11.8°C	1.9°C	6.9°C	43 mm	3 cm
October	0.8°C	−5.7°C	−2.5°C	29 mm	20 cm
November	−10.2°C	−18.6°C	−14.4°C	26 mm	37 cm
December	−18.1°C	−26.9°C	−22.5°C	15 mm	24 cm
Year	0.9°C	−10.0°C	−4.6°C	294 mm	155 cm

Year to year

December varies most from one year to the next (4.3°C), June least

Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; April’s run from −41.6°C in 1995 to 19.6°C in 2000.

−60°

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Behchokò’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Whati, its nearest location with complete temperatures.
Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
Not on this page: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.

Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Questions about Behchokò’s climate

How warm does Behchokò get in summer?

The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 22.4°C.

How cold does Behchokò get in winter?

Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about −29.4°C.

How much rain and snow does Behchokò get?

The year adds up to 294 mm. August is the peak month (44 mm) and February the low one (11 mm).

Are these figures for Behchokò itself?

They are the figures for Whati, which read better as the region’s climate than Behchokò’s own.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Behchokò →

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).