292 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [Vou. VIII. 
winter months are probably between 15° and 20° colder than at White 
Horse. A summary of the general conditions of each month at Dawson 
will probably give the best idea of the climate. 
January—The average mean of this month at Dawson is about 
— 24° and the temperature seldom rises above zero; in some years never. 
On twenty-one days or about two days in three the temperature falls to 
—20° or lower; on eleven days or about one day in three it falls to 
— 40° or lower. 
The days of —50° or lower are more variable in number; the 
average is about one in six but in eleven years there have been some 
Januarys with fourteen or fifteen days —50° or lower, while there have 
.been others with not one or only one —50°. A spell of —60° and 
lower seems to occur every few years. The lowest temperature on 
record is —68° in 1901. The two coldest Januarys were those of 
1896 and 1905, the former with an average temperature of — 38° and 
a minimum of —65°, and the latter with an average of —34° and a 
minimum of —66°. The mildest January with a mean of —15.5° and 
minimum of —50° was that of 1901. 
At Selkirk the conditions during the month are very similar to 
those which obtain at Dawson. At White Horse the mean is about 
20° higher than at. Dawson and the monthly range of temperature is 
more pronounced; comparatively mild days occur occasionally and 
extremely low temperatures do not occur so frequently, although some 
of the lowest dips reach about the same reading as that recorded at 
Dawson. At Tagish Lake the mean is about 15° higher than at 
Dawson and cold dips not so severe. 
February is usually much milder than January, the average mean 
temperature being about —12° or 12° warmer than January. The 
coldest February of which there is record was that of 1896 with a mean 
of —23° and the warmest that of 1897 with a mean of —3°. In the 
former month —60° or lower was recorded twice, but in no other 
February excepting that of 1903 did the thermometer record as low as 
—50°. In 1897, —31° was the lowest; this February was remarkable 
also from the fact that the temperature rose above the freezing point on 
sixteen days, whereas in no other year was 32° reached. On the average 
there are three days on which the temperature does not fall to zero; it 
falls to — 20° on fourteen or fifteen days and to — 40° or below on four 
or five days. Other stations also show that February is not as cold a 
month as January. 
