Yellowknife in Fall
In fall (September, October and November), Yellowknife sees average daytime highs around 1°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 79 mm of precipitation over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.
Over the season highs ease from about 14°C in early September to -14°C by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across fall, and the air most often feels dry.
Fall is Yellowknife's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Yellowknife's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 1°C
- 2nd-warmest season
- Avg overnight low
- -5°C
- Precipitation
- 79 mm
- 19 wet days
- Avg wind
- 13 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.8
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Sep · Oct · Nov
Temperature in Yellowknife in Fall
Over the season highs ease from about 14°C in early September to -14°C by late November.
A typical fall day in Yellowknife reaches about 1°C and drops to -5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is September, the coolest November.
How fall really feels in Yellowknife
Once humidity and wind are folded in, fall brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 70 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in fall is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Yellowknife weather by month
How the three fall months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -22° / -28° | 10 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 0.0 |
| Feb | -19° / -26° | 6 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 8.2 | 0.0 |
| Mar | -12° / -21° | 10 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 11.3 | 0.0 |
| Apr | -1° / -11° | 11 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 14.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 10° / 0° | 19 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 17.4 | 2.5 |
| Jun | 18° / 8° | 25 | 5.3 | 0 | 19.3 | 6.2 |
| Jul | 21° / 13° | 37 | 7.3 | 0 | 18.5 | 6.8 |
| Aug | 18° / 11° | 46 | 9.2 | 0 | 15.8 | 5.7 |
| Sep | 11° / 5° | 40 | 8.2 | 0.5 | 12.6 | 2.5 |
| Oct | 1° / -3° | 24 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 9.5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | -10° / -16° | 15 | 4.6 | 6 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | -18° / -24° | 10 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Fall
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across fall.
Chance of precipitation in Fall
Yellowknife gets around 79 mm of rain and snow over 19 wet days across fall. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Fall
Most of fall feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Fall
Winds average 13 km/h across fall.
Sunrise & sunset in Fall
Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min in early September to 5 h 18 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Fall
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across fall, about 1.3 kWh/m².
Is fall a good time to visit Yellowknife?
Our two travel scores rate fall for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
fall is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yellowknife.
What to pack for Yellowknife in Fall
From fall's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In fall, Yellowknife sees daytime highs around 1°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 19 days see rain.
UV index in Yellowknife in Fall
Clear-sky midday UV across fall averages around 1. 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 1 | Low |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 4 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2 | Low |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Air quality in Yellowknife in Fall
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where fall 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Good |
| Feb | 0 | Good |
| Mar | 1 | Good |
| Apr | 2 | Good |
| May | 2 | Good |
| Jun | 4 | Good |
| Jul | 13 | Moderate |
| Aug | 22 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3 | Good |
| Oct | 0 | Good |
| Nov | 0 | Good |
| Dec | 0 | Good |
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.
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.
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
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.