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Yukon Territory - North/Black/Liard River Canoe Trip, Area Climate Info

I have not found recorded data for the North or Fire Lakes areas yet, and really doubt that anything is available unless it can be obtained from the mining company with the bush camp on Fire Lake. I'm trying to see if I can get anything out of them.

I remember our Northern Lights Air pilot and the mechanic both complaining about the lack of reliable weather forecasts for the Watson Lake area. Neither Stewart, BC weather, or the one from Whitehorse did them much good.

Temperatures
Because of elevation, expect freezing temperatures (0°C, 32°F) and below on any clear nights at North Lake, and probably at Fire Lake, though we didn't have any at the latter because it was mostly cloudy as we paddled through there. Daytime temperatures everywhere were at least 50°F (10°C) and sometimes went to over 80°F (27°C). 65°F (18°C) would be a good daytime average from our 1997 experience, though remember it can snow any day of the year up there, even at lower elevations. Prolonged low temperatures are possible, but it's not probable. I would expect the temperatures on the lower Black and the Liard Rivers to be similar to the Watson Lake temps given below, mainly because of elevation and terrain.

Rain
I think we had at least a little rain every day. Usually they were just short thunder showers with significant amounts of sun or light clouds at other times. There were long overcast periods some days, even if it was not raining. There were two days where we had prolonged rains of several hours. Neither were unmanagable. I would think that there could be three day continuous rains or equivalent. Higher elevation usually dictates more rainfall and lower temperatures that than lower areas. I'd expect to see twice as much rain or more than the government figures given below for Watson Lake which is only 100 miles (160+ km) away. I have not been able to tell if there is a rainy season for the area, but the runnable window for the watershed is pretty short and you probably won't have much choice about it.

Wind
The upper lakes are quite small with good shore access everywhere, and the chances of getting 'windbound' on any of them is practically zero. Wind is seldom a problem in narrow river canyons, so you should not be bothered with any in the whole North and Black River portion. The Liard is flat and wide, and there could be head wind problems there. We did not have any to speak of on our trip, but we had mostly clear weather for that section.

The Yukon Government Says:

Temperatures in the Yukon are usually more extreme than those 
experienced in the southern provinces of Canada.

Temperature: Daily Averages & Records (Celsius)
                        Averages                   Records
                    Jan         July           Low        High
 Watson Lake    -24.6(-12F)  14.9(+59F)    -58.9(-74F)  33.9(+93F)
 Whitehorse     -18.7(-2F)   14.0(+57F)    -52.2(-62F)  34.4(+94F)

Precipitation: Annual Totals
              Total (mm)  Rain (mm)  Snow (cm)  Avg # of Days
 Watson Lake    413.8       256.7      218.9       152
 Whitehorse     268.8       159.6      145.2       122

Above from:
http://www.yukonweb.com/government/ybs/
(Yukon Bureau of Statistics)

For Americans, the above 257 mm of rain for Watson Lake is about 10 inches. The 219 cm of snow is about 86 inches. The total precip of 414 mm is about 16 inches. Not a desert, but not much precip, either. The last spring frost in town averages 2 June, and the first frost in the fall averages 14 September. Expect frosts any clear night on or above Fire Lake, and maybe below there. Daylight between sunrise and sunset on June 21 is about 19 hours. It never gets really dark in the runnable period of late June and early July, so don't bring a lot of flashlights.

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