Dawson is a weather station located 370 m above sea level. Its records go back to 1901: 116 years of temperature are available up to 2020, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Closed series: the records of this station end in 2020. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is −3.8 °C, much higher than over 1961–1990 (−5.2 °C): a difference of 1.4 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2016 (−1.5 °C) and the coldest 1933 (−10.0 °C). The last complete year, 2020, ranks 71 out of 116, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2020, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.48 °C per decade. The station ranks 4 out of 240 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1901
The first ten years of the series (1901–1910) average −5.9 °C; the last ten (2011–2020) average −3.6 °C, a difference of +2.3 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 7 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2016 (−1.5 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at −3.3 °C (2019) and bottoms out at −6.5 °C (1936).
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −29.3 °C | −25.8 °C | +3.5 °C | – | – | – |
| February | −23.8 °C | −20.9 °C | +2.9 °C | – | – | – |
| March | −13.5 °C | −12.6 °C | +0.9 °C | – | – | – |
| April | −1.5 °C | 0.4 °C | +1.9 °C | – | – | – |
| May | 7.3 °C | 8.8 °C | +1.5 °C | – | – | – |
| June | 13.0 °C | 14.4 °C | +1.4 °C | – | – | – |
| July | 15.1 °C | 15.9 °C | +0.8 °C | – | – | – |
| August | 12.1 °C | 12.6 °C | +0.5 °C | – | – | – |
| September | 5.8 °C | 6.3 °C | +0.5 °C | – | – | – |
| October | −4.1 °C | −4.0 °C | +0.1 °C | – | – | – |
| November | −17.9 °C | −17.8 °C | +0.1 °C | – | – | – |
| December | −25.5 °C | −22.9 °C | +2.6 °C | – | – | – |
The largest temperature change is in January (+3.5 °C) and the smallest in November (+0.1 °C); over the year the mean difference is +1.4 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.
Records at Dawson
- Warmest year: −1.5 °C, in 2016
- Coldest year: −10.0 °C, in 1933
- Warmest month: 17.9 °C, in July 2019
- Coldest month: −46.2 °C, in December 1917
8.5 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Daily records are not part of the dataset for this station: only annual and monthly extremes are shown.
Temperature trend over 1961–2020
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.48 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, about +2.8 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 240 stations (+0.25 °C per decade), by 0.23 °C per decade: the station ranks 4 out of 240.
Data source and licence
Data source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (dataset “AHCCD (ahccd-monthly) + climate-daily”), licence Open Government Licence – Canada. Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Dawson are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 240 stations in Canada: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Dawson?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Dawson is −3.8 °C. It was −5.2 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +1.4 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Dawson?
Since records began in 1901, the warmest year at Dawson is 2016, at −1.5 °C on average. The coldest is 1933 (−10.0 °C).
Is the climate at Dawson getting warmer?
Yes: at Dawson, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.48 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, +2.8 °C in total. 7 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Neighbouring stations