Whitehorse weather in January

In January, Whitehorse sees average daytime highs of -14°C and overnight lows near -20°C, with 25 mm of precipitation across 7.3 wet days and about 6.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -15°C in the first days to -12°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 5 h 24 min at the start of January to 7 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Whitehorse's 5th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whitehorse's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-14°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-20°
1st coldest
Precipitation
25 mm
7.3 wet days
Daylight
6 h 06 min
10:06 AM – 4:13 PM
Cloud cover
72%
5th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
0.37 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Whitehorse is capital city of the territory of Yukon, Canada.

Air quality
Excellent
PM2.5 3 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
68/km²
people per km²
Founded
1898

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -15°C in the first days to -12°C by the end.

A typical January day in Whitehorse reaches about -14°C in the afternoon and slips back to -20°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -28°C and -3°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 5°C cooler than February.

-40°-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-14-20
2-14-20
3-15-20
4-15-21
5-15-21
6-15-21
7-15-21
8-15-21
9-15-21
10-15-21
11-14-21
12-14-21
13-14-20
14-14-20
15-14-20
16-14-20
17-14-20
18-13-20
19-13-20
20-13-20
21-13-20
22-13-20
23-13-20
24-13-20
25-13-19
26-13-19
27-13-19
28-12-19
29-12-19
30-12-19
31-12-19

How January really feels in Whitehorse

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Whitehorse weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-14° / -20°257.38.76.20.0
Feb-9° / -18°1656.78.50.0
Mar-3° / -14°154.76.511.30.0
Apr / -5°144.1414.20.6
May12° / 256.91.816.93.5
Jun17° / 4410.30.218.65.3
Jul19° / 5311.1017.95.7
Aug17° / 5311.10.215.54.9
Sep11° / 4911.22.412.62.3
Oct / -4°4110.49.39.70.1
Nov-8° / -13°277.89.770.0
Dec-12° / -18°287.39.55.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22773
32773
42773
52773
62872
72773
82773
92674
102674
112674
122575
132575
142575
152575
162575
172476
182575
192575
202674
212674
222773
232773
242773
252773
263070
273070
283070
293268
303367
313367

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Whitehorse gets around 25 mm of rain and snow over 7.3 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 23% and peaks near 24% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12328
22328
32328
42328
52328
62328
72429
82429
92429
102429
112429
122429
132429
142429
152429
162329
172328
182328
192328
202328
212328
222328
232327
242327
252327
262227
272227
282226
292226
302126
312126

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of January feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 5 h 24 min at the start of January to 7 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 108 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 10:21 AM to 9:36 AM, and sunset from 3:45 PM to 4:51 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
15.410:213:45
25.410:213:47
35.510:203:48
45.510:203:50
55.510:193:51
65.610:183:53
75.610:173:55
85.710:163:57
95.710:153:59
105.810:144:00
115.810:134:03
125.910:114:05
135.910:104:07
146.010:094:09
156.110:074:11
166.110:064:13
176.210:044:16
186.310:024:18
196.310:014:20
206.49:594:23
216.59:574:25
226.59:554:28
236.69:534:30
246.79:514:33
256.89:494:35
266.89:474:38
276.99:454:40
287.09:434:43
297.19:414:46
307.29:384:48
317.29:364:51

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.37 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.21 kWh/m² to a high of 6.06 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.37 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.2Dim
20.3Dim
30.3Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.3Dim
70.3Dim
80.3Dim
90.3Dim
100.3Dim
110.3Dim
120.3Dim
130.3Dim
140.3Dim
150.3Dim
160.4Dim
170.4Dim
180.4Dim
190.4Dim
200.4Dim
210.4Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.6Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.7Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Whitehorse?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Whitehorse.

What to pack for Whitehorse in January

From January's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In January, Whitehorse sees daytime highs around -14°C and nights near -20°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Whitehorse in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Whitehorse peaks around July 15 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 15UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Whitehorse?

Whitehorse sits at 60.7°N, 135.1°W, 707 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Juneau, 271 km away.

JuneauDawson CityTerraceFort St. John

Topography around Whitehorse

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Whitehorse.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whitehorse has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 181 m around an average of 688 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,175 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,734 m.

The land around Whitehorse is covered by trees (62%) within 3 km, trees (80%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) within 80 km.

3 km
181 m
16 km
1,175 m
80 km
1,734 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Juneau 271 km · Dawson City 435 km · Badger 779 km · Eagle River 783 km · Fairbanks 788 km · Terrace 788 km · Anchorage 801 km · Fort St. John 960 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 83% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$55,698
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Whitehorse (60.7161°, -135.0538°, elevation 707 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).