Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Kirkland Lake Canada

In Kirkland Lake, the summers are long, comfortable, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -7°F to 75°F and is rarely below -28°F or above 85°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Kirkland Lake for warm-weather activities is from early July to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 18 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 63°F. The hottest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is July, with an average high of 75°F and low of 55°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 1 to March 3, with an average daily high temperature below 26°F. The coldest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is January, with an average low of -6°F and high of 15°F.

In Kirkland Lake, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Kirkland Lake begins around April 16 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around October 25.

The clearest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 59% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 25 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around April 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Kirkland Lake varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from May 16 to November 1, with a greater than 27% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Kirkland Lake is July, with an average of 11.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from November 1 to May 16. The month with the fewest wet days in Kirkland Lake is February, with an average of 4.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Kirkland Lake changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.0 months, from March 20 to November 17. The month with the most days of rain alone in Kirkland Lake is July, with an average of 11.2 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 4.0 months, from November 17 to March 20. The month with the most days of snow alone in Kirkland Lake is December, with an average of 4.8 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Kirkland Lake experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.8 months, from March 12 to December 4, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Kirkland Lake is July, with an average rainfall of 2.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from December 4 to March 12. The month with the least rain in Kirkland Lake is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Kirkland Lake experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from October 12 to May 6, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Kirkland Lake is December, with an average snowfall of 9.0 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from May 6 to October 12. The least snow falls around July 27, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Kirkland Lake varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 21 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 4 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:19 AM on June 15, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 51 minutes later at 8:10 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:26 PM on December 10, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 58 minutes later at 9:24 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Kirkland Lake during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Kirkland Lake experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from June 3 to September 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Kirkland Lake is July, with 3.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 29, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Kirkland Lake experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 31 to May 7, with average wind speeds of more than 6.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.8 months, from May 7 to October 31. The calmest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Kirkland Lake varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 4.2 months, from February 11 to June 16, with a peak percentage of 41% on April 12. The wind is most often from the west for 2.9 months, from June 16 to September 14 and for 2.5 months, from November 25 to February 11, with a peak percentage of 43% on July 20. The wind is most often from the south for 2.4 months, from September 14 to November 25, with a peak percentage of 36% on November 9.

Kirkland Lake is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.2 months, from July 20 to September 26, with an average temperature above 51°F. The month of the year in Kirkland Lake with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 55°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 5.3 months, from December 11 to May 22, with an average temperature below 38°F. The month of the year in Kirkland Lake with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 33°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kirkland Lake throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kirkland Lake for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kirkland Lake for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Kirkland Lake typically lasts for 4.0 months (124 days), from around May 23 to around September 24, rarely starting before May 5 or after June 9, and rarely ending before September 5 or after October 13.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Kirkland Lake should appear around May 14, only rarely appearing before May 4 or after May 27.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from April 28 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is June, with an average of 6.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 24 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Kirkland Lake is December, with an average of 0.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kirkland Lake are 48.145 deg latitude, -80.038 deg longitude, and 1,053 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kirkland Lake contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 161 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,067 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (607 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,335 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kirkland Lake is covered by trees (65%) and herbaceous vegetation (11%), within 10 miles by trees (90%), and within 50 miles by trees (83%).