Photo: C Robson · CC BY-SA 3.0Whitehorse is among the driest of Canadian towns: 280 mm of rain and snow a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −18.9°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than almost every Canadian town. The year is lopsided: July gets about 4.7 times what April does. Plan for rain or snow on about 70 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Measured at Whitehorse, 1.2 km south: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Whitehorse at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Whitehorse’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Yukon beside it.
What a year in Whitehorse feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
216 frost days and 42 days above 20°C a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 45 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 280 mm a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 148 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from September to May, with about 29 cm in January, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Whitehorse
83% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. That means homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Whitehorse’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 3 June to about 28 August, some 85 days in a normal year.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jul.
Parks & trails →Wind chill falls below −20 on about 71 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Whitehorse’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Whitehorse
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Whitehorse are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 1.2 km south |
| Station altitude | 706 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.6°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 33.2°C |
| Average wind | 11.4 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Mayo Road, 19 km |
How Whitehorse 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 Yukon.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Whitehorse’s would only repeat its figures. Whitehorse has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 21 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehorse | 20.5°C | −18.9°C | 280 mm |
| Macpherson-Grizzly Valley 21 km · Mayo Road | 22.3°C 1.8°C warmer | −23.0°C 4.1°C colder | 322 mm |
Whitehorse weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −11.1°C | −18.9°C | −15.0°C | 22 mm | 29 cm |
| February | −7.1°C | −16.6°C | −11.9°C | 15 mm | 18 cm |
| March | −1.1°C | −12.4°C | −6.7°C | 12 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 7.1°C | −4.0°C | 1.6°C | 8 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 14.2°C | 1.6°C | 7.9°C | 15 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 19.3°C | 6.2°C | 12.8°C | 35 mm | under 1 cm |
| July | 20.5°C | 8.5°C | 14.5°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18.5°C | 7.2°C | 12.9°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 12.3°C | 2.7°C | 7.5°C | 31 mm | 4 cm |
| October | 4.3°C | −2.8°C | 0.8°C | 23 mm | 17 cm |
| November | −5.4°C | −11.8°C | −8.6°C | 24 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −9.1°C | −16.5°C | −12.8°C | 16 mm | 25 cm |
| Year | 5.2°C | −4.7°C | 0.2°C | 280 mm | 148 cm |
From year to year, January moves by 4.5°C, more than any month, and July least
Over 1991–2020, January saw both −46.6°C (2005) and 10.0°C (2009), the widest span of any month.
Where Whitehorse’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Whitehorse, 1991–2020.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Whitehorse’s climate
How warm does Whitehorse get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 20.5°C.
How cold does Whitehorse get in winter?
Lows sink to −18.9°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Whitehorse get?
About 280 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (39 mm) and April the driest (8 mm).
Are these figures for Whitehorse itself?
They are: the normals station that gives them stands in Whitehorse.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Whitehorse →
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).