A Nice Month – But Not Normal!
Submitted by Bill Caulfeild-Browne
August was nearly a degree above average with a high of 29.3C on the 20th and a low of 9.6C on the 14th. The warmth made up for the slightly cool months of June and July. We also got lots of sunshine – 22 fully sunny days, 5 partly sunny and only 4 days that were predominantly cloudy.
Rainfall was a different story. Although we had just five days when it rained, we got 20 mm. more than normal – a total of 82 mm. (The airport got even more – over 90 mm.) The wettest day was the 8th with 23 mm, almost an inch. This was in contrast with Northern Ontario which was very dry at 50% of normal and Ottawa which received 189 mm, the wettest August ever recorded there.
Perhaps most remarkable are the temperatures being recorded around Hudson’s Bay. Mid-month, the area was flirting with 30C, a full 10C above the long term mean. This is very much in keeping with climate change predictions – the North and winter warming up more than more southerly locations and summer.
September has started out warm and dry – we’ve had no rain in the first week, though plenty of gusty winds. The whole story will be in next month’s issue.
