Hot summer on its way in Canada

Get out your golf clubs, swimsuits and barbecues because it's official — the country is in for a hot summer, according to Environment Canada.

The weather agency announced its three-month seasonal forecast for June, July and August on Wednesday.

"People were looking for a warm summer after a wet spring in much of the country, so it's good news," Toronto-based CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said in an interview.

Above-normal temperatures are predicted for the next three months across the country with trends based on 40 years of historical data.

In addition, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec will experience below-normal precipitation, while southern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and most of Newfoundland will be wet with above-normal precipitation.

But how accurate are these predictions?

"They're pretty confident in the temperatures for June and July because those predictions are based on a strong weather pattern — La Nina," said Wagstaffe.

However, that weather pattern starts weakening in July, so the temperature trend could change in August, she added.

In terms of temperature forecasts, Environment Canada is generally 75 per cent correct for Western B.C., northern Ontario and Manitoba, according to its website.

Accuracy drops to 50 per cent or greater for the rest of the country with the exception of New Brunswick and St John's, where they are often not better than chance.

Precipitation is a little harder to forecast. In this area, Environment Canada has been better than chance in the past for eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, northern Alberta, southern Manitoba and much of the North.

For the rest of the country, the agency's precipitation predictions are not significantly better than chance.