Geography
[edit]
Kugluktuk is on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The surrounding landscape is dominated by the rocky and often barren Canadian Shield. The region has a subarctic climate, but barely so, with July having an average of 10.9 °C (51.6 °F). It has cold, dry winters, and moderate snowfall that is relatively high for its latitude. Trees do exist in the region due to microclimate, but they are dwarfed and extremely sparse.
Flora[edit]
Plant growth in the region during the summer includes small shrubs, grass, moss, lichens, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, various flowers, and dwarf willow and birch trees.
Climate[edit]
Kugluktuk features a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc); like most of mainland Nunavut; with wet summers and dry winters. It is in the transitional zone to a cold tundra climate (ET), but falls outside of it, since its warmest month of July surpasses the 10 °C (50 °F) isotherm, averaging 10.9 °C (51.6 °F).
The highest temperature ever recorded in Kugluktuk was 34.9 °C (94.8 °F) on 15 July 1989. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −50.0 °C (−58.0 °F) on 2 February 1968.
Climate data for Kugluktuk (Kugluktuk Airport)WMO ID: 71938; coordinates 67°49′00″N 115°08′38″W / 67.81667°N 115.14389°W / 67.81667; -115.14389 (Baie-Kugluktuk Airport); elevation: 22.6 m (74 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1930–present
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high humidex
0.3
−1.7
−0.3
8.9
19.8
30.3
36.8
36.8
25.8
13.1
2.2
−1.5
36.8
Record high °C (°F)
0.8(33.4)
1.1(34.0)
−0.1(31.8)
9.8(49.6)
23.3(73.9)
32.5(90.5)
34.9(94.8)
30.3(86.5)
26.1(79.0)
13.9(57.0)
4.4(39.9)
4.4(39.9)
34.9(94.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
−22.5(−8.5)
−22.8(−9.0)
−20.1(−4.2)
−11.6(11.1)
−0.6(30.9)
10.4(50.7)
15.8(60.4)
13.7(56.7)
6.8(44.2)
−2.9(26.8)
−13.2(8.2)
−20.1(−4.2)
−5.6(21.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)
−26.6(−15.9)
−27.0(−16.6)
−24.6(−12.3)
−16.4(2.5)
−4.5(23.9)
5.9(42.6)
11.2(52.2)
9.6(49.3)
3.6(38.5)
−5.9(21.4)
−17.1(1.2)
−24.1(−11.4)
−9.7(14.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
−30.7(−23.3)
−31.3(−24.3)
−29.1(−20.4)
−21.2(−6.2)
−8.5(16.7)
1.4(34.5)
6.5(43.7)
5.4(41.7)
0.3(32.5)
−9.0(15.8)
−21.0(−5.8)
−28.1(−18.6)
−13.8(7.2)
Record low °C (°F)
−47.8(−54.0)
−50.0(−58.0)
−48.9(−56.0)
−43.9(−47.0)
−31.1(−24.0)
−15.0(5.0)
−0.8(30.6)
−4.4(24.1)
−20.0(−4.0)
−35.4(−31.7)
−41.1(−42.0)
−45.0(−49.0)
−50.0(−58.0)
Record low wind chill
−64.3
−64.4
−65.0
−54.4
−39.7
−15.6
−5.9
−11.8
−22.9
−46.5
−54.1
−61.5
−65.0
Average precipitation mm (inches)
9.2(0.36)
7.0(0.28)
9.3(0.37)
7.9(0.31)
14.5(0.57)
17.4(0.69)
45.2(1.78)
42.3(1.67)
35.5(1.40)
23.3(0.92)
10.9(0.43)
10.6(0.42)
233.1(9.18)
Average rainfall mm (inches)
0.1(0.00)
0.0(0.0)
0.0(0.0)
0.1(0.00)
4.3(0.17)
14.6(0.57)
44.4(1.75)
44.9(1.77)
31.4(1.24)
4.7(0.19)
0.0(0.0)
0.0(0.0)
144.5(5.69)
Average snowfall cm (inches)
19.6(7.7)
16.3(6.4)
19.4(7.6)
18.2(7.2)
16.2(6.4)
2.1(0.8)
0.0(0.0)
0.2(0.1)
7.7(3.0)
35.0(13.8)
25.5(10.0)
21.9(8.6)
182.1(71.7)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)
9.7
8.7
10.1
7.7
8.5
8.3
11.8
13.0
13.0
14.5
10.6
10.3
126.2
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
1.9
6.8
11.5
13.1
10.5
2.3
0.0
0.0
46.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)
10.5
10.1
11.6
9.5
7.2
1.3
0.1
0.2
3.7
14.5
13.4
11.6
93.6
Average relative humidity (%) (at 1500 LST)
76.7
75.1
77.5
82.3
83.1
70.2
64.8
69.8
75.5
84.7
80.9
77.8
76.5
Average dew point °C (°F)
−30.6(−23.1)
−31.3(−24.3)
−30.2(−22.4)
−20.8(−5.4)
−7.5(18.5)
0.8(33.4)
5.5(41.9)
4.6(40.3)
−0.3(31.5)
−8.3(17.1)
−21.5(−6.7)
−29.7(−21.5)
−14.1(6.6)
Mean monthly sunshine hours
17.8
77.3
160.3
233.3
246.7
375.0
341.6
207.7
91.1
51.2
19.6
0.2
1,821.7
Percentage possible sunshine
17.7
35.5
44.4
49.6
38.7
52.1
48.5
38.5
22.8
17.6
12.7
0.7
31.6
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (rain/rain days, snow/snow days, humidex, wind chill, humidity 1981–2010) Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 (dew point 1951–1980)
