Submitted by Bill Caulfeild-Browne
July’s mean temperature was 19.4C, some 1.1C warmer than usual, though that is by no means a record. (That belongs to 1916 when the month sweltered at 23.2C.) The warmest day was the 12th at 29.9C and the coolest night occurred on the 18th when we flirted with single digits at 10.4C.
Until recently the evidence of global warming in Tobermory has been in the winter when most months are coming in at two or three degrees higher than in the 20th century, but it may now be affecting our summer temperatures too. The evidence is not clear yet – the statistics are indicative but not established.
To say it was a wet month may be misleading. We got 99mm. of rain, which is nearly 50% more than average – but virtually all of it fell in just three days. The 6th gave us 27mm, the 17th swamped us with 37mm and the 24th poured 21mm on us. As I write this on August 5th we have had no precipitation at all since then – a little worrying when you think of the hundreds of forest fires to the west and the smoke we’re seeing every day.
The Province was generally a bit warmer than usual though there were some real hot-spots. Chatham reported 37.3C and Windsor hit 45 on the humidex scale.
The major news of the month was the July 24th storm that left most of the Saugeen Peninsula without power, along with Haliburton, rural Simcoe and Renfrew. Many people went over 24 hours before hydro was restored. Fortunately there no fatalities.
The models of Environment and Climate Change Canada, to whom I am indebted for province-wide statistics, suggest continued warmer weather in August. I hope it rains too!
