Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Inuvik is among the driest of Canadian towns: 250 mm of rain and snow a year
Deep winter brings January lows near −28.4°C. Frost is common: about 252 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in almost every Canadian town. Precipitation follows the seasons: August brings about 4.3 times as much as April. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from September to May, when means dip under 10°C.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Inuvik station, 12 km south-east.
A year in Inuvik at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Inuvik’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories beside it.
What a year in Inuvik feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
252 frost days and 35 days above 20°C a year
From August to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 124 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 250 mm a year
3rd wettest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in the Northwest Territories. Some 66 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Inuvik
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. In heating terms, homes need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Inuvik’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Tender plants are usually safe from around 10 June until frost returns near 28 August: about 78 days.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul.
Parks & trails →On some 160 days a year the wind chill drops past −20; mitts and a scarf earn their place.
Expect around 2 sticky days a year with the humidex above 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Inuvik’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Inuvik
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Inuvik are 4 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 12 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 68 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 32.8°C |
| Average wind | 9.6 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Fort McPherson, 116 km |
How Inuvik compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in the Northwest Territories.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Inuvik’s own would show the same figures). No closer place has figures: this one lies 124 km from Inuvik.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inuvik | 19.3°C | −28.4°C | 250 mm |
| Tuktoyaktuk 124 km · Tuktoyaktuk | 15.5°C 3.8°C cooler | −29.5°C 1.1°C colder | 250 mm |
Inuvik weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −21.4°C | −28.4°C | −24.9°C | 13 mm |
| February | −19.5°C | −27.3°C | −23.5°C | 11 mm |
| March | −16.3°C | −25.8°C | −21.1°C | 14 mm |
| April | −5.6°C | −15.5°C | −10.6°C | 10 mm |
| May | 6.3°C | −3.3°C | 1.5°C | 14 mm |
| June | 17.5°C | 5.7°C | 11.6°C | 24 mm |
| July | 19.3°C | 9.0°C | 14.2°C | 40 mm |
| August | 15.4°C | 6.4°C | 10.9°C | 42 mm |
| September | 7.9°C | 0.8°C | 4.4°C | 33 mm |
| October | −3.0°C | −8.6°C | −5.9°C | 23 mm |
| November | −14.3°C | −20.8°C | −17.6°C | 15 mm |
| December | −19.7°C | −26.4°C | −23.0°C | 12 mm |
| Year | −2.8°C | −11.2°C | −7.0°C | 250 mm |
Two years in three, March’s average lands within 4.5°C of normal, against the steadier June
Over 1991–2020, May saw both −26.6°C (1992) and 30.1°C (2010), the widest span of any month.
Where Inuvik’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Inuvik from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Inuvik’s climate
How warm does Inuvik get in summer?
Peak warmth comes in July, at about 19.3°C by mid-afternoon.
How cold does Inuvik get in winter?
A typical January night falls to −28.4°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Inuvik get?
The yearly total is about 250 mm. August gets 42 mm, the most of any month; April gets 10 mm, the least.
Are these figures for Inuvik itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Inuvik itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Inuvik →
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).