How Cold Does It Feel?

The wind chill right now and over the next three days, with the hours exposed skin is at risk — on Environment Canada's scale, in plain words.

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Town Tools builds free, public tools for Whitehorse and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

If you’re heading out

Plugging in the car

Below about −20 °C most vehicles need a block heater to start reliably, and the colder it gets the longer they need plugged in. In a −40 snap, a car left unplugged overnight may not start at all.

Keeping pipes from freezing

In a hard cold snap, let a tap trickle overnight and open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so warm air reaches the pipes. Know where your main shut-off is.

The school run and the dog

At frostbite levels, exposed skin can freeze in minutes. Cover cheeks and hands, and watch a dog's paws — booties or a quick walk only when it's this cold.

Heading out on the land

Tell someone your plan and when you'll be back. A vehicle or sled that won't restart at −40 turns a short trip into a serious situation; carry warm layers, a way to make heat, and a charged phone.

Good to know

The cold snaps here are real

In the December 2025–January 2026 cold snap, Braeburn (north of town) hit −55.7 °C and the Yukon grid entered its 'red' zone after the LNG plant tripped; ATCO fired up diesel standby and asked residents to cut non-critical power. Whitehorse's own record low is −56.2 °C (January 1906).

Yukon News — Yukon hit 'red' zone over prolonged cold snap (Jan 2026)

When the grid is asked to ease off

During those snaps ATCO and Yukon Energy ask people to delay dishwashing, laundry and vehicle charging, and to unplug hot-water tanks and freezers where they can — small cuts that keep the whole system stable when demand peaks.

Yukon News, January 2026