Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5

Climate in Cape Dorset · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Few Canadian towns get more frosts than Cape Dorset

On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 12.1°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in almost every Canadian town. Of all months, August brings the most precipitation and February the least. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 88 days a year with 1 mm or more.

July afternoons: cooler than almost every Canadian town

January nights: colder than almost every Canadian town

Rain and snow a year: drier than 94% of Canadian towns

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, measured at Kinngait/Cape Dorset, 1.0 km east.

July high

12.1°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−26.3°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

413 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Frost days

273

a year at 0°C or below

A year in Cape Dorset at a glance

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

Jan−21°C−26°C

Feb−22°C−27°CColdest nights

Mar−17°C−24°C

Apr−10°C−16°C

May−2°C−7°C

Jun6°C0°C

Jul12°C5°CWarmest

Aug10°C4°CWettest

Sep4°C0°C

Oct−1°C−4°C

Nov now−7°C−12°C

Dec−14°C−20°C

What stands out about Cape Dorset’s climate

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

Cooler than almost every Canadian townJuly afternoons average 12.1°C, the warmest of the year. 3rd warmest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.Colder than almost every Canadian townJanuary nights average −26.3°C; February is colder still. The mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.Drier than 94% of Canadian townsAbout 413 mm of rain and melted snow a year; August is the wettest month and February the driest. The wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.

A normal year

What a year in Cape Dorset feels like

Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.

Winter

−19°C / −24°C

66 mm of rain and snow

Spring

−10°C / −16°C

80 mm of rain and snow

Summer

9°C / 3°C

130 mm of rain and snow

Autumn

−1°C / −5°C

138 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

−21°C−26°C

−22°C−27°C

−17°C−24°C

−10°C−16°C

−2°C−7°C

6°C0°C

12°C5°C

10°C4°C

4°C0°C

−1°C−4°C

−7°C−12°C

−14°C−20°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideNo month has highs of 17°C or more with nights of 8°C or more: summers here are cool.

Frost & warm days

273 frost days and under 1 days above 20°C a year

The frost season runs September to July, and March freezes nearly every night. On about 101 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.

273

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than almost every Canadian town

225

Days that stay below 0°C

101

Nights a year below −20°C

under 1

Days a year above 20°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

413 mm of precipitation in a typical year

The wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.

413 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 94% of Canadian towns

57 mm

August, the wettest month

17 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

57 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Cape Dorset

76% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April.

9,430 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

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

Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. Homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.

Living here

Living with Cape Dorset’s climate

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

Get outside

Even midsummer nights fall below 8°C on average, so no month meets the mild-day rule of 17–27°C by day.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Wind chill falls below −20 on about 154 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.

Storms and extremes

Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Cape Dorset’s hazards page does.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Kinngait/Cape Dorset

ECCC builds the Kinngait/Cape Dorset normals from 4 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.

Distance from the town	1.0 km east
Station altitude	48 m
Completeness	meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule
WMO standard normals	No
Snowfall from	No location within 100 km
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−38.7°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	23.0°C
Average wind	17.6 km/h on average, most often from the west
Next-nearest location	Coral Harbour, 329 km

Compared with other towns

How Cape Dorset 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 Nunavut.

July afternoons12.1°C

Cape DorsetMedian Canadian town

12°C16°C20°C24°C

Cooler than almost every Canadian town3rd warmest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

January nights−26.3°C

Cape DorsetMedian Canadian town

−35°C−30°C−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Colder than almost every Canadian townThe mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

Rain and snow a year413 mm

Cape DorsetMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than 94% of Canadian townsThe wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

Month by month

Cape Dorset weather by month

Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.

Month	High	Low	Mean	Rain & snow
January	−20.7°C	−26.3°C	−23.7°C	19 mm
February	−21.6°C	−27.1°C	−24.4°C	17 mm
March	−17.4°C	−23.9°C	−20.7°C	26 mm
April	−9.5°C	−16.0°C	−12.8°C	26 mm
May	−2.0°C	−6.6°C	−4.3°C	28 mm
June	5.7°C	0.1°C	2.9°C	33 mm
July	12.1°C	4.5°C	8.3°C	39 mm
August	9.9°C	3.8°C	6.8°C	57 mm
September	4.1°C	0.1°C	2.2°C	53 mm
October	−1.0°C	−4.4°C	−2.7°C	48 mm
November	−7.2°C	−12.0°C	−9.5°C	37 mm
December	−14.2°C	−19.8°C	−17.1°C	30 mm
Year	−5.2°C	−10.6°C	−7.9°C	413 mm

Year to year

December varies most from one year to the next (3.4°C), August least

Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than February, between −38.7°C (1991) and 1.9°C (2006).

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Cape Dorset’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Kinngait/Cape Dorset, its nearest location with complete temperatures.
Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC 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 Cape Dorset’s climate

How warm does Cape Dorset get in summer?

Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 12.1°C on a typical day.

How cold does Cape Dorset get in winter?

A typical February night falls to −27.1°C, the year’s low point.

How much rain and snow does Cape Dorset get?

August is the wettest month at 57 mm and February the driest at 17 mm, for 413 mm over the year.

Are these figures for Cape Dorset itself?

Yes: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Kinngait/Cape Dorset, which is in Cape Dorset.

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

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).