Some snow possible for northeast B.C. in July?

Published on July 7, 2026 at 7:54 AM

It may be the heart of summer, but some folks across Northern Canada and British Columbia are in for an unexpected burst of winter this week.

Extreme temperature contrasts have developed across the north over the past few weeks, bringing an unusual chill to the Yukon and Northwest Territories while Nunavut basks in much more mild temperatures.

Ellesmere Island, Canada's northernmost and third-largest island, is forecast to see rounds of snow through Wednesday thanks to a chilly upper-level trough swirling just south of the North Pole.

The July snow will impact all approximately 144 people who call the island home, most of whom live in Grise Fiord. Luckily, Grise Fiord is forecast to only see a few centimetres of snowfall accumulation--much less than the 15-20 cm forecast across northern portions of the island.

Some of Canada's biggest July snowfall events have taken place in Nunavut, including most recently on July 7, 1995, when 14 cm of snow fell in Alert.

Before that, 16.6 cm of snow was recorded there on July 7, 1988.

Meanwhile, further south, across northern B.C. and the mountains, a cool trough is forecast to move onshore late Tuesday into Wednesday.

Regions at higher terrain, such as near Bulkley Valley, inland Central Coast, Dease Lake, Muncho Lake, inland North Coast, and Williston will be subject to rounds of wet snow through Wednesday.

Unlike in Northern Canada, summer snowfall events are fairly rare for areas in northern B.C., such as Muncho Lake (which is west of Fort Nelson). Here, we tend to see summer snow once in about every five years.

-News97.ca with files from The Weather Network

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