Yearly Snowfall Averages for the Northwest Territories

The tables below list annual averages for snowfall at places in the Northwest Territories.

The numbers are for the total amount of new snow and how many days it snows at least 0.2 centimetres (0.08 inches) in a year. The snowfall totals are averages based on weather data collected from 1981 to 2010.

Separate tables group places in the Southern and Northern parts of the Northwest Territories.

Southern Northwest Territories

Several of the communities in the southern portion of the Northwest Territories are on the shores of Great Slave Lake. The capital city of Yellowknife is on the north shore, and Hay River on the south shore.

Fort Simpson is a village at the confluence of the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers. Upstream on the Liard, is the hamlet of Fort Liard, located not far from the borders with the Yukon and British Columbia.

Fort Smith is along the Slave River, near the Alberta border. Located just east of Wood Buffalo National Park, the town serves as a gateway for visiting the Park.

Yearly snowfall averages
Days Place Inches Centi­metres
50 Fort Liard 65.1 165.4
75 Fort Simpson 73.6 187.0
74 Fort Smith 59.1 150.2
72 Hay River 54.7 138.9
79 Yellowknife 62.1 157.6

Northern Northwest Territories

This region of the Northwest Territories includes the mainland and islands of the Canadian western Arctic. All the places here, but Normal Wells, lie north of the Arctic Circle.

The communities of Normal Wells and Inuvik sit alongside the Mackenzie River. Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk and Cape Parry are on the Arctic coast. Sachs Harbour is on the southwest corner of Banks Island, while Ulukhaktok is on the west coast of Victoria Island. Mould Bay is Environment Canada's northermost weather station in the Northwest Territories, located at 76° N latitude on Prince Patrick Island.

Annual average snowfall
Days Place Inches Centi­metres
94 Cape Parry 45.7 116.0
93 Inuvik 62.4 158.6
96 Mould Bay 43.0 109.2
85 Norman Wells 63.6 161.5
75 Paulatuk 51.9 131.8
73 Sachs Harbour 38.5 97.7
72 Tuktoyaktuk 40.6 103.1
72 Ulukhaktok 32.8 83.3
Reference

Environment Canada. Meteorological Service of Canada. Canadian Climate Normals. 1981-2010 Climate Normals & Averages.

Northwest Territories Snowfall
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