Canadian summer forecast: Expect scorching or stormy
(Weather map courtesy of Accuweather)
Much of Canada is in for a hot, dry summer this year—meaning more bad news for Alberta, worsening the drought and increasing the risk of wildfires.
The most intense heat will focus on that beleaguered province as well as B.C. and Saskatchewan, according to AccuWeather.
“We’re in for a lot of warmth and heat, unfortunately,” says Brett Anderson, AccuWeather a senior meteorologist. “Weather patterns are going to support very dry, very warm conditions for much of the summer across these regions, and the fire situation is just going to get worse.”
“A very warm, dry spring usually translates to a hot summer,” he adds, “because the ground is dried out already, all the sun’s energy goes directly to heating instead of evaporating moisture from the ground.”
In fact, there will be an unusually high number of days reaching above 32 degrees Celsius throughout western Canada.
Environment Canada is also forecasting above-normal temperatures for almost the entire country this summer.
The odds favouring warmth over coolness appears to be becoming the norm, a shift that can be linked with climate change.
“Nowadays it’s hard to get it [temperature] below normal from what’s going on: there’s very little sea ice in the far North,” Anderson explains. “Less sea ice means the water is darker…and it absorbs more of the sun’s energy. The air mass is not as cold coming down, so there’s less chill where most people live. The Pacific is running warmer than normal. So there are a lot of factors favouring warmth over coolness.”
Worsening wild fire conditions also mean high levels of smoke, which will mean more haze and poorer air quality. Smoke from the wildfires will be carried thousands of kilometres downwind, potentially being seen in the skies over eastern Canada and parts of the United States.
Eastern Canada is looking at warm, humid conditions and a greater chance of severe weather this summer, including thunderstorms from southern and eastern Ontario through southern Quebec and interior New Brunswick. That means potential “high-impact weather” in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Windsor, and Hamilton.
The main threat with severe storms in those regions will likely be gusty winds and flooding downpours as hot, steamy air moves in from the south.
Atlantic Canada, meanwhile, is expected to be very humid and at greater risk of a tropical storm near summers end. The humid air will limit how cool it will get at night and will also mean more fog.
