Yellowknife weather in February

In February, Yellowknife sees average daytime highs of -19°C and overnight lows near -26°C, with 6 mm of precipitation across 2.1 wet days and about 8.2 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -21°C in the first days to -17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 6 h 54 min at the start of February to 9 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Yellowknife's 7th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Yellowknife's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-19°
11th warmest
Overnight low
-26°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
6 mm
2.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:44 AM – 5:01 PM
Cloud cover
69%
7th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
1.08 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 February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -21°C in the first days to -17°C by the end.

A typical February day in Yellowknife reaches about -19°C in the afternoon and slips back to -26°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -28°C and -9°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs about 3°C warmer than January and about 7°C cooler than March.

-40°-30°-20°-10°151015202528
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-21-28
2-21-28
3-21-27
4-20-27
5-20-27
6-20-27
7-20-27
8-20-27
9-20-27
10-20-27
11-20-27
12-20-27
13-19-26
14-19-26
15-19-26
16-19-26
17-19-26
18-19-26
19-19-26
20-18-26
21-18-26
22-18-26
23-18-26
24-18-25
25-18-25
26-17-25
27-17-25
28-17-25

How February really feels in Yellowknife

Once humidity and wind are folded in, February averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 28 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
28
28 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Yellowknife weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 11th-warmest and 12th-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 February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 67%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23367
33466
43565
53565
63664
73664
83664
93664
103565
113565
123466
133466
143367
153367
163268
173268
183268
193268
203268
213169
223169
233268
243268
253367
263466
273466
283565

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitationSnow

Yellowknife gets around 6 mm of rain and snow over 2.1 wet days in February, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 8% and peaks near 11% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202528
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11113
21113
31113
41112
51012
61012
71012
81011
9911
10911
11911
12811
13811
14811
15711
16711
17711
18711
19610
20610
21610
22610
23610
2469
2569
2669
2769
2869

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, February 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%151015202528
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

Wind in February

Winds average 12 km/h in February, the calmest month.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202528
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812calm
912calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 54 min at the start of February to 9 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 162 minutes over February. Sunrise moves from 9:23 AM to 8:03 AM, and sunset from 4:19 PM to 5:39 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202528
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.99:234:19
27.09:214:22
37.19:184:25
47.29:154:28
57.39:134:31
67.49:104:34
77.59:074:37
87.69:044:40
97.79:014:43
107.88:584:46
117.98:554:49
128.08:524:52
138.18:504:55
148.28:474:58
158.38:445:01
168.48:405:04
178.58:375:07
188.68:345:10
198.78:315:13
208.88:285:16
218.98:255:19
229.08:225:21
239.18:195:24
249.28:165:27
259.38:125:30
269.48:095:33
279.58:065:36
289.68:035:39

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 1.08 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 — February's 1.08 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

00.511.522.5151015202528
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.8Dim
70.8Dim
80.8Dim
90.9Dim
100.9Dim
110.9Dim
121.0Dim
131.0Dim
141.1Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.2Dim
181.2Dim
191.3Dim
201.3Dim
211.4Dim
221.4Dim
231.5Dim
241.5Dim
251.6Dim
261.6Dim
271.7Dim
281.8Dim
Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Yellowknife?

Our two travel scores rate February 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

February is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yellowknife.

What to pack for Yellowknife in February

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

In February, Yellowknife sees daytime highs around -19°C and nights near -26°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Yellowknife in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks 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.

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 February

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where February 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
February 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).