Sask. can expect a warmer summer than usual: climatologist
After the drought in Saskatchewan last summer, many are wondering if this summer will be any different.
According to Environment Canada's senior climatologist, David Phillips, it won't be.
Phillips said although they can't exactly predict how much rain will fall in Saskatchewan, the forecast right now is that it will be dryer than normal.
He also said the prediction is that it will be warmer than normal as well.
"When you have warmer than normal temperatures, you need more precipitation, not less," he said.
"The best thing we can say about our precipitation forecasts is that we're not always right and we do change our minds so I don't think it's necessarily a bad situation quite yet."
Wildfire risk
Phillips said that the entire country is in for a warmer-than-normal summer, which he said could be problematic in terms of firefighting resources.
"If we don't get the rains that we need, we may be fighting fires from one coast to the other, so that spreads out resources thinly and makes fighting them more difficult," he said.
Severe weather
According to Phillips, Saskatchewan is the most tornado-prone province in the country.
"The good thing about summer severe weather in Saskatchewan, it tends to be short-lived," he said.
"Be mindful of the sky and know what to do when you do get severe weather."
