Get out the sunblock, it’s going to be a hot, dry summer.
Cindy Day, chief meteorologist for the SaltWire Network, issued her summer forecast on Tuesday.
While the first official day of summer on the calendar doesn’t hit until June 20, the meteorological summer begins Monday, June 1, and takes in July and August.
“It looks pretty nice,’’ Day said, explaining that a couple of steering weather systems will impact the jet stream and push what she calls the Bermuda high north into the Maritimes.
“That will allow for some nice warm weather. If the Bermuda high sinks too far to the south or it wobbles a little bit, then the cooler air funnels down. So, the Bermuda high’s position should push up on the jet stream so it looks like we’re in for a pretty warm summer.’’
Weather outlook
Here is a summary of Cindy Day’s forecast for the June to August:
- June – Seasonal temperatures, not much rain.
- July – Warmer than normal, not much rain.
- August – Staying warmer than normal, more frequent precipitation.
It will take things a few weeks to really heat up. Day sees temperatures hovering around normal in June — daytime highs sitting in the low to mid 20s C and nighttime lows around 13 C.
“That’s pretty comfortable. Precipitation for June is going to be pretty low, which doesn’t help these forest fire situations.’’
Things really get hot and even more dry in July.
Day said average daytime temperatures will be just under 30 C – a potential problem considering how dry it already is in the Maritimes.
Day said while P.E.I. had a good snow cover as the winter season came to an end, all that moisture mostly evaporated instead of sinking into the ground. Only 22 milimetres of precipitation were measured at the Charlottetown Airport in April, about one-third the normal amount. Conditions are even drier in Nova Scotia, a province that has been dealing with forest fires lately.
Day said things will begin to balance out by late summer.
“It looks like things are going to shift in August, although we’re going to stay on the warmer side of normal. The rain systems will start and be a little more frequent ... so an increasingly wet August as summer winds down.’’
