Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Dawson City Canada

In Dawson City, the summers are long and comfortable; the winters are long, frigid, and snowy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -18°F to 73°F and is rarely below -45°F or above 81°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Dawson City for warm-weather activities is from late June to late July.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 10 to September 7, with an average daily high temperature above 58°F. The hottest month of the year in Dawson City is July, with an average high of 72°F and low of 46°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.8 months, from November 7 to February 29, with an average daily high temperature below 13°F. The coldest month of the year in Dawson City is January, with an average low of -17°F and high of -1°F.

In Dawson City, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Dawson City begins around February 16 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around September 24.

The clearest month of the year in Dawson City is May, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 24 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around February 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Dawson City is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% 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 Dawson City varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.4 months, from May 25 to October 6, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Dawson City is July, with an average of 9.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.6 months, from October 6 to May 25. The month with the fewest wet days in Dawson City is March, with an average of 1.6 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 Dawson City changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 6.1 months, from October 9 to April 13. The month with the most days of snow alone in Dawson City is December, with an average of 3.3 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 5.9 months, from April 13 to October 9. The month with the most days of rain alone in Dawson City is July, with an average of 9.0 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. Dawson City experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from May 5 to October 9, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Dawson City is July, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from October 9 to May 5. The month with the least rain in Dawson City is February, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 14 to April 15, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Dawson City is November, with an average snowfall of 4.4 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 15 to September 14. The least snow falls around July 8, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Dawson City varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 4 hours, 10 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 21 hours, 5 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:47 AM on June 19, and the latest sunrise is 8 hours, 25 minutes later at 12:11 PM on December 24. The earliest sunset is at 4:20 PM on December 17, and the latest sunset is 8 hours, 32 minutes later at 12:51 AM on June 21.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Dawson City during 2024.

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.

The perceived humidity level in Dawson City, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

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 Dawson City experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from October 24 to April 5, with average wind speeds of more than 6.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Dawson City is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from April 5 to October 24. The calmest month of the year in Dawson City is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Dawson City varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 1.8 months, from June 29 to August 24, with a peak percentage of 41% on July 28. The wind is most often from the east for 10 months, from August 24 to June 29, with a peak percentage of 80% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dawson City 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 Dawson City for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late July, with a peak score in the first 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 Dawson City for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid July, with a peak score in the first 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 Dawson City typically lasts for 2.5 months (76 days), from around May 31 to around August 15, rarely starting before May 14 or after June 17, and rarely ending before July 26 or after September 2.

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 Dawson City should appear around May 25, only rarely appearing before May 16 or after June 5.

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 3.4 months, from April 24 to August 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Dawson City is June, with an average of 5.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from October 14 to February 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Dawson City is December, with an average of 0.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Dawson City are 64.060 deg latitude, -139.433 deg longitude, and 1,047 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Dawson City contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,841 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,522 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,877 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,660 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Dawson City is covered by trees (57%) and sparse vegetation (23%), within 10 miles by trees (84%), and within 50 miles by trees (51%) and shrubs (27%).