Photo: OhanaUnited Talk page · CC BY-SA 4.0Kugluktuk is among the frostiest of Canadian towns
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 15.8°C. Rain or snow is most frequent in July and least in February. Precipitation is light here, less than falls on almost every Canadian town. The furnace earns its keep from August to June, the months that average under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Kugluktuk (1.2 km west).
A year in Kugluktuk at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Kugluktuk’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut beside it.
What a year in Kugluktuk feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 266 frosts and 15 warm days a year
From August to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 148 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 233 mm a year
4th wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut. Some 58 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
207 cm of snow in a typical year
From September to June snow is likely; October is the peak, at about 38 cm. The snowiest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Kugluktuk
80% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: August to June.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. Homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Kugluktuk’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
On average the last spring frost comes around 19 June and the first autumn frost around 26 August: about 67 frost-free days between.
No month here brings highs of 17–27°C together with nights of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Expect around 185 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Kugluktuk’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kugluktuk
ECCC builds the Kugluktuk normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 1.2 km west |
| Station altitude | 23 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | Yes |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −47.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 32.5°C |
| Average wind | 15.1 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Croker River, 233 km |
How Kugluktuk 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.
Kugluktuk weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −22.5°C | −30.7°C | −26.6°C | 9 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −22.8°C | −31.3°C | −27.0°C | 7 mm | 20 cm |
| March | −20.1°C | −29.1°C | −24.6°C | 9 mm | 23 cm |
| April | −11.6°C | −21.2°C | −16.4°C | 8 mm | 19 cm |
| May | −0.6°C | −8.5°C | −4.5°C | 15 mm | 18 cm |
| June | 10.4°C | 1.4°C | 5.9°C | 17 mm | 3 cm |
| July | 15.8°C | 6.5°C | 11.2°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 13.7°C | 5.4°C | 9.6°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 6.8°C | 0.3°C | 3.6°C | 36 mm | 7 cm |
| October | −2.9°C | −9.0°C | −5.9°C | 23 mm | 38 cm |
| November | −13.2°C | −21.0°C | −17.1°C | 11 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −20.1°C | −28.1°C | −24.1°C | 11 mm | 27 cm |
| Year | −5.6°C | −13.8°C | −9.7°C | 233 mm | 207 cm |
In April, anything from −40.2°C to 9.8°C
Two years in three, March’s average falls within 3.2°C of its normal of −24.6°C; July keeps to within 1.6°C.
Where Kugluktuk’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Kugluktuk, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Kugluktuk’s climate
How warm does Kugluktuk get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 15.8°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Kugluktuk get in winter?
Expect nights around −31.3°C in February; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Kugluktuk get?
Count on roughly 233 mm a year, heaviest in July (45 mm) and lightest in February (7 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
On about 240 days a year the ground keeps at least 1 cm of snow.
Are these figures for Kugluktuk itself?
They are: the normals station that gives them stands in Kugluktuk.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Kugluktuk →
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).