Climate
Sachs Harbour is in the Arctic tundra climatic zone, characterized by long, extremely cold winters. Since the activities of many residents of the community revolve around fishing, hunting, and travel, many residents have considerable knowledge of weather conditions, permafrost, and even erosion patterns. Because of climate changes in recent years, local residents fear their knowledge of weather patterns may not be of much use, as the weather has become harder to predict. Since the climate has been changing, sea ice has been breaking up earlier than normal, taking seals farther south in the summer. Seals are one of the main sources of food for the town. Salmon appeared for the first time in nearby waters between 1999 and 2001. New species of birds are migrating to the island, including robins and Barn Swallows, and more flies and mosquitos have been appearing.
| Climate data for Sachs Harbour | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high Humidex | −4.4 | −6.1 | −5.6 | 1.1 | 9.4 | 22.1 | 26.0 | 23.7 | 16.3 | 3.9 | 1.1 | −4.3 | 26.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | −4.4 (24.1) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
2.2 (36) |
10.0 (50) |
20.5 (68.9) |
24.2 (75.6) |
21.5 (70.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
4.4 (39.9) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
24.2 (75.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −25.7 (−14.3) |
−25.2 (−13.4) |
−23.5 (−10.3) |
−15.2 (4.6) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
5.9 (42.6) |
10.3 (50.5) |
6.3 (43.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−8.0 (17.6) |
−17.4 (0.7) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−10.0 (14) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −29.3 (−20.7) |
−29.0 (−20.2) |
−27.2 (−17) |
−18.9 (−2) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
2.9 (37.2) |
6.8 (44.2) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−11.1 (12) |
−20.9 (−5.6) |
−26.9 (−16.4) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −32.9 (−27.2) |
−32.8 (−27) |
−30.8 (−23.4) |
−22.7 (−8.9) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
3.3 (37.9) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−24.4 (−11.9) |
−30.4 (−22.7) |
−16.6 (2.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −52.2 (−62) |
−50.2 (−58.4) |
−48.4 (−55.1) |
−43.0 (−45.4) |
−26.7 (−16.1) |
−16.5 (2.3) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−22.8 (−9) |
−35.5 (−31.9) |
−42.8 (−45) |
−45.0 (−49) |
−52.2 (−62) |
| Wind chill | −71.6 | −68.1 | −64.8 | −58.4 | −40.3 | −21.1 | −10.3 | −20.4 | −31.2 | −44.9 | −56.4 | −64.1 | −71.6 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 4.7 (0.185) |
7.2 (0.283) |
5.9 (0.232) |
11.2 (0.441) |
10.4 (0.409) |
7.9 (0.311) |
15.0 (0.591) |
27.0 (1.063) |
23.4 (0.921) |
22.2 (0.874) |
9.0 (0.354) |
5.4 (0.213) |
149.4 (5.882) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.7 (0.028) |
5.5 (0.217) |
13.9 (0.547) |
21.8 (0.858) |
9.8 (0.386) |
0.5 (0.02) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
52.2 (2.055) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 5.2 (2.05) |
7.6 (2.99) |
6.6 (2.6) |
11.7 (4.61) |
10.5 (4.13) |
2.6 (1.02) |
1.2 (0.47) |
5.4 (2.13) |
14.1 (5.55) |
23.7 (9.33) |
10.3 (4.06) |
6.5 (2.56) |
105.4 (41.5) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 5.6 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 7.5 | 13.3 | 12.4 | 13.9 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 93.1 |
| Avg. rainy days | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.7 |
| Avg. snowy days | 5.8 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 8.6 | 13.6 | 8.0 | 5.8 | 70.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | n/a | 36.4 | 162.9 | 268.3 | 280.8 | 344.8 | 326.1 | 181.2 | 80.5 | 37.1 | n/a | n/a | 1,718.0 |
| Source #1: 1971-2000 Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Sunshine data from 1961-1990 Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Sachs Harbour
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