Whitehorse encountered its wettest winter on record this season, receiving over two and a half times the usual amount of precipitation, according to Environment Canada. This was part of a series of records broken in a notably cold and snowy winter across the Yukon. The Whitehorse airport recorded 139.8 millimetres of precipitation between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28, significantly higher than the seasonal average of 52.1 millimetres for the same period. Additionally, it was the 24th coldest winter on record for Whitehorse since record-keeping began in 1941.
Meteorologist Brian Proctor from Environment Canada stated that the average temperature for December, January, and February in Whitehorse is usually -13.3°C; however, this winter saw temperatures drop to -16.9°C, 3.6 degrees colder than normal. The weather office defines meteorological winter from Dec. 1 to the end of February, and the 2025-2026 winter was colder than usual throughout most of the Yukon due to a prolonged Arctic high-pressure ridge.
While the three-month period as a whole did not break temperature records, various communities experienced record-breaking low minimum temperatures on specific days. Faro broke 13 low minimum temperature records in December, with the lowest temperature recorded on Dec. 11 at -45.6°C since 1966. Other locations like Burwash Landing, Kluane Lake, Carmacks, Beaver Lake, Teslin, Watson Lake, and Whitehorse also broke low minimum temperature records multiple times in December.
Some areas in the Yukon witnessed a wetter-than-average winter. Dawson and Watson Lake were the second wettest on record, dating back to 1902 and 1939, respectively. Benoit Turcotte, a senior researcher at Yukon University, analyzed the data and discovered that there were 34 consecutive days of temperatures below -20°C in Whitehorse. Concerns arise about potential property damage from a rapid snowmelt in spring due to the substantial snowpack present. As of Feb. 28, there was 77 centimetres of snow on the ground in Whitehorse, compared to 49 centimetres on the same day the previous year.