If you are planing to join the Aurora Viewing Tour, we recommend to arrive at the Whitehorse Airport before 8pm, then you have enough time to prepare for the tour.
FAQ
What time should I arrive to Whitehorse?
How to photograph the Northern Lights?
For starters set the camera on a tripod, adjust the ISO setting up to 800 or 1600, set the f-stop wide open (lowest number like f2.8) and start bracketing the exposure times. Try 5 seconds, 10 seconds and 20 seconds. If the picture is still black and underexposed then try 30 seconds and keep raising the ISO until something shows up on your LCD monitor.
When are the best months to see the northern lights?
Statistically, springtime (March/April) and autumn (September/October) contain the most "geomagnetically disturbed days" which means more aurora activity...although you're bound to see the lights in October, November, December, January and February if you spend enough time looking up.
In Yukon, it's dark enough to see the northern lights from about August-through-April. During May, June & July it's just too bright in to see them in the "Land of the Midnight Sun."
Three Day - Aurora Weather Forecast
Whitehorse (Canada)
Yukon Climate
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.0 (50) |
11.7 (53.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
21.8 (71.2) |
34.1 (93.4) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.2 (91.8) |
31.6 (88.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
19.3 (66.7) |
13.3 (55.9) |
10.6 (51.1) |
34.4 (93.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −11.0 (12.2) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
6.6 (43.9) |
13.5 (56.3) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.6 (69.1) |
18.5 (65.3) |
12.1 (53.8) |
4.2 (39.6) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −15.2 (4.6) |
−12.7 (9.1) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
1.0 (33.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
12.3 (54.1) |
14.3 (57.7) |
12.6 (54.7) |
7.2 (45) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −19.2 (−2.6) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−11.9 (10.6) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
1.0 (33.8) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.0 (46.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−16.5 (2.3) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −56.1 (−69) |
−51.1 (−60) |
−42.2 (−44) |
−30.6 (−23.1) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−6.1 (21) |
−2.2 (28) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−31.1 (−24) |
−47.2 (−53) |
−48.3 (−54.9) |
−56.1 (−69) |
| Average mm (inches) | 17.8 (0.701) |
11.8 (0.465) |
10.3 (0.406) |
7.0 (0.276) |
16.3 (0.642) |
32.4 (1.276) |
38.1 (1.5) |
35.8 (1.409) |
33.3 (1.311) |
23.2 (0.913) |
20.1 (0.791) |
16.3 (0.642) |
262.3 (10.327) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.3 (0.012) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
1.2 (0.047) |
14.3 (0.563) |
32.4 (1.276) |
38.1 (1.5) |
35.5 (1.398) |
29.0 (1.142) |
8.8 (0.346) |
1.0 (0.039) |
0.4 (0.016) |
160.9 (6.335) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 25.4 (10) |
18.3 (7.2) |
14.8 (5.83) |
7.2 (2.83) |
2.0 (0.79) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.3 (0.12) |
4.7 (1.85) |
18.6 (7.32) |
27.0 (10.63) |
23.5 (9.25) |
141.8 (55.83) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 11.2 | 8.3 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 8.0 | 10.9 | 13.5 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 11.2 | 121.2 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 7.5 | 10.9 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 62.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 11.9 | 9.1 | 7.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 7.9 | 12.4 | 12.2 | 67.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72.2 | 64.5 | 51.8 | 42.1 | 38.2 | 39.9 | 46.0 | 47.9 | 54.5 | 64.2 | 75.2 | 74.7 | 55.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 43.8 | 105.5 | 163.2 | 238.5 | 251.1 | 266.7 | 247.6 | 226.5 | 132.7 | 84.9 | 39.8 | 26.8 | 1,827.1 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 21.4 | 41.6 | 44.8 | 54.4 | 46.8 | 46.9 | 43.8 | 46.4 | 34.1 | 27.0 | 17.8 | 14.9 | 36.7 |
