What is the climate in Yukon?

Answer 1

Above the Arctic Circle, the Yukon is known as "the land of the midnight sun" because for three months in summer, sunlight is almost continuous. In winter, however, darkness sets in and the light of day is not seen for a quarter of the year.

The Yukon has a subarctic climate. The high altitude of much of the territory and the semi-arid climate provide relatively warm summers with temperatures frequently reaching 25°C or higher during the long summer days. In winter the temperature ranges between 4°C to a bitter -50°C in the south and becomes even colder farther north. Temperatures in the Yukon are usually more extreme than those experienced in the southern provinces of Canada. Summers are fairly warm with 24-hour daylight in June and July. Winters are bitterly cold with short days and little sun.

Answer 2

The Yukon has a sub-arctic continental climate with temperatures reaching as high as 36.1 degrees celcius in the summer and as low as minus 60 degrees celcius in the winter. The average frost free period ranges from 93 days in the Watson Lake area to 21 days at Haines Junction. As well as varying greatly geographically, frost free periods variy substantially from year to year at any location. Long hours of daylight during the summer promote rapid growth which compensates to some extent for the cooler summer temperatures experienced north of 60 degrees latitude.

Average annual precipitation ranges from less than 20 cm west of Whitehorse to more than 40 cm in Watson Lake. The Southwest Yukon, where most agricultural production occurs, lies within the rainshadow created by the St. Elias and Coastal mountains. South-west Yukon is subject to droughts between April and July -- a particular problem for crop germination.