Yellowknife weather in January

In January, Yellowknife sees average daytime highs of -22°C and overnight lows near -28°C, with 10 mm of precipitation across 3.4 wet days and about 5.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -22°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 4 h 42 min at the start of January to 6 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Yellowknife's 9th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Yellowknife's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-22°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-28°
1st coldest
Precipitation
10 mm
3.4 wet days
Daylight
5 h 30 min
10:00 AM – 3:33 PM
Cloud cover
75%
9th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
0.29 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 January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -22°C through the month.

A typical January day in Yellowknife reaches about -22°C in the afternoon and slips back to -28°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -33°C and -11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 4°C cooler than December and about 3°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Yellowknife

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.

Yellowknife 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-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 January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12773
22674
32773
42773
52773
62773
72674
82773
92773
102773
112674
122674
132575
142575
152674
162575
172575
182476
192476
202476
212575
222575
232674
242773
252773
262872
272971
282971
293169
303169
313367

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Yellowknife gets around 10 mm of rain and snow over 3.4 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 11% and peaks near 12% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1911
2911
3911
4911
5912
6912
7912
8912
91012
101013
111013
121013
131013
141013
151114
161114
171114
181114
191115
201115
211115
221215
231215
241215
251215
261215
271215
281215
291214
301214
311214

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 12 km/h in January.

Across January, 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.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
811calm
911calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 4 h 42 min at the start of January to 6 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 126 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 10:20 AM to 9:26 AM, and sunset from 3:01 PM to 4:16 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
14.710:203:01
24.710:193:03
34.810:193:05
44.810:183:06
54.910:173:08
64.910:163:10
75.010:143:12
85.010:133:14
95.110:123:16
105.110:103:19
115.210:093:21
125.310:073:23
135.310:063:26
145.410:043:28
155.510:023:31
165.510:003:33
175.69:583:36
185.79:563:39
195.89:543:41
205.99:523:44
215.99:503:47
226.09:483:49
236.19:463:52
246.29:433:55
256.39:413:58
266.49:394:01
276.59:364:04
286.69:344:07
296.69:314:10
306.79:294:13
316.89:264:16

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.29 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 — January's 0.29 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.1Dim
20.1Dim
30.2Dim
40.2Dim
50.2Dim
60.2Dim
70.2Dim
80.2Dim
90.2Dim
100.2Dim
110.2Dim
120.2Dim
130.2Dim
140.3Dim
150.3Dim
160.3Dim
170.3Dim
180.3Dim
190.3Dim
200.3Dim
210.3Dim
220.4Dim
230.4Dim
240.4Dim
250.4Dim
260.5Dim
270.5Dim
280.5Dim
290.5Dim
300.6Dim
310.6Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Yellowknife?

Our two travel scores rate January 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

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yellowknife.

What to pack for Yellowknife in January

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

In January, Yellowknife sees daytime highs around -22°C and nights near -28°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 3 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Yellowknife 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 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 January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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