Yellowknife weather in April

In April, Yellowknife sees average daytime highs of -1°C and overnight lows near -11°C, with 11 mm of precipitation across 3.1 wet days and about 14.4 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -6°C in the first days to 4°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in April, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 54 min at the start of April to 15 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, April is Yellowknife's 4th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Yellowknife's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-1°
7th warmest
Overnight low
-11°
6th coldest
Precipitation
11 mm
3.1 wet days
Daylight
14 h 24 min
5:24 AM – 7:51 PM
Cloud cover
62%
4th clearest
Wind
13 km/h
5th windiest
Solar energy
4.7 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Yellowknife is capital and largest city of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Air quality
Excellent
PM2.5 4 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
149/km²
people per km²
Founded
1970

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

Temperature in April

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -6°C in the first days to 4°C by the end.

A typical April day in Yellowknife reaches about -1°C in the afternoon and slips back to -11°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -9°C and 7°C. Set against its neighbours, April runs about 11°C warmer than March and about 11°C cooler than May.

-30°-20°-10°10°151015202530
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-6-16
2-6-16
3-6-15
4-5-15
5-5-14
6-5-14
7-4-14
8-4-13
9-3-13
10-3-13
11-3-12
12-2-12
13-2-11
14-1-11
15-1-11
16-1-10
170-10
180-10
191-9
201-9
211-9
222-8
232-8
242-7
253-7
263-7
274-6
284-6
294-5
305-5

How April really feels in Yellowknife

Once humidity and wind are folded in, April averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 30 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
30
30 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Yellowknife weather by month

How April compares with the rest of the year at a glance. April is the 7th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-22° / -28°103.44.45.60.0
Feb-19° / -26°62.12.88.20.0
Mar-12° / -21°103.24.211.30.0
Apr-1° / -11°113.12.514.40.0
May10° / 194.61.417.42.5
Jun18° / 255.3019.36.2
Jul21° / 13°377.3018.56.8
Aug18° / 11°469.2015.85.7
Sep11° / 408.20.512.62.5
Oct / -3°246.44.39.50.0
Nov-10° / -16°154.666.50.0
Dec-18° / -24°103.44.54.70.0

Cloud cover in April

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in April.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of April, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 60%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202530
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23466
33466
43565
53664
63664
73763
83763
93862
103862
113961
123961
133961
144060
154060
164060
174060
184159
194258
204258
214258
224258
234258
244258
254357
264357
274357
284456
294456
304555

Chance of precipitation in April

Any precipitationSnow

Yellowknife gets around 11 mm of rain and snow over 3.1 wet days in April. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 11% and peaks near 12% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202530
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11112
21112
31112
41112
51111
61111
71111
81111
91111
101111
111111
121110
131110
141110
151110
16119
17119
18119
19118
20118
21117
22117
23117
24116
25116
26116
27116
28116
29116
30126

Humidity in April

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, April 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%151015202530
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

Wind in April

Winds average 13 km/h in April.

Across April, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202530
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
413light breeze
513light breeze
613light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in April

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 54 min at the start of April to 15 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 180 minutes over April. Sunrise moves from 6:15 AM to 4:39 AM, and sunset from 7:09 PM to 8:31 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202530
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.96:157:09
213.06:127:12
313.16:087:15
413.26:057:18
513.36:017:20
613.45:587:23
713.55:557:26
813.65:517:29
913.75:487:31
1013.85:447:34
1113.95:417:37
1214.05:387:40
1314.15:347:43
1414.25:317:45
1514.35:287:48
1614.45:247:51
1714.55:217:54
1814.65:187:57
1914.85:148:00
2014.95:118:02
2115.05:088:05
2215.15:058:08
2315.25:018:11
2415.34:588:14
2515.44:558:17
2615.54:528:19
2715.64:488:22
2815.74:458:25
2915.84:428:28
3015.94:398:31

Solar energy in April

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in April, about 4.7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.13 kWh/m² to a high of 6.39 kWh/m² in June across the year — April's 4.7 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202530
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.8Moderate
23.8Moderate
33.9Moderate
44.0Moderate
54.0Bright
64.1Bright
74.2Bright
84.2Bright
94.3Bright
104.4Bright
114.4Bright
124.5Bright
134.6Bright
144.6Bright
154.7Bright
164.7Bright
174.8Bright
184.8Bright
194.9Bright
205.0Bright
215.0Bright
225.0Bright
235.1Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.3Bright
285.3Bright
295.4Bright
305.4Bright
Planning a trip in April

Is April a good time to visit Yellowknife?

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

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

April is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yellowknife.

What to pack for Yellowknife in April

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

In April, Yellowknife sees daytime highs around -1°C and nights near -11°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: sun protection. About 3 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatsun protection

UV index in Yellowknife in April

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in April peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Yellowknife peaks around June 15 at about 4 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 15UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Air quality in Yellowknife in April

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where April falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Yellowknife is worst in August — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 224.0× the cleanest month (January, 0 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Yellowknife's WHO annual average of 4 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1421 µg/m³Jan 10 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan0Good
Feb0Good
Mar1Good
Apr2Good
May2Good
Jun4Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep3Good
Oct0Good
Nov0Good
Dec0Good
Location & terrain

Where is Yellowknife?

Yellowknife sits at 62.5°N, 114.4°W, 252 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Fort McMurray, 659 km away.

Fort McMurrayFort St. JohnGrande PrairieSt. AlbertEdmontonWîhkwêntôwinStony PlainSpruce Grove

Topography around Yellowknife

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Yellowknife has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 56 m around an average of 180 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 97 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 220 m.

The land around Yellowknife is covered by trees (43%) and water (31%) within 3 km, trees (60%) and water (29%) within 16 km, and trees (50%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
56 m
16 km
97 m
80 km
220 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
April weather nearby: Fort McMurray 659 km · Fort St. John 781 km · Grande Prairie 849 km · St. Albert 982 km · Edmonton 991 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 992 km · Stony Plain 992 km · Spruce Grove 992 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 Yellowknife (62.4541°, -114.3725°, elevation 252 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).