Summer hasn't skipped Manitoba: Warmer weather on the way, says Environment Canada

Summer has officially started — though in Winnipeg, it seems like someone needs to give Mother Nature a heads-up.

But Dave Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said the lousy late June days are not an omen for what is to come.

"It even looks a little better than normal. If you like your summers warm, that's what we are saying [is coming]," Phillips said.

That might be hard to believe looking out a window at the rainy streets and cloudy skies on Saturday — a day with a cool forecast high of just 15 C. But Canadian and American weather models are both predicting a slightly warmer-than-usual summer for much of Canada, including Manitoba.

Phillips said it will be a degree or two warmer than normal.

Even though Manitoba has seen some gloomy days recently, the province's spring has actually been quite good, Phillips added.

"Temperatures have been, I would say, a little bit warmer than normal and rainfall has been down. Maybe the farmers and growers would like to see a little bit more of that rain, but I think overall the spring has been pretty favourable," he said.

In Winnipeg, the first eight days of the month saw an afternoon average temperature was around 28 C or 29 C and there was only one rainy day.

But that was followed by eight cooler, rainy days.

"I think the feeling out there, I'm sure across the province, is, 'did we have our summer there at the first week of June and is it going to continue to go downhill?'" Phillips said.

Nature doesn't work that way, he said, and that means the sun will eventually return. But, Phillips added, there's never a 100 per cent guarantee it will stay long.

"This is Canada; weather can attack you from every direction," he added.