Balmy summer to continue into fall

Fresh from basking in a record-hot summer, Calgarians should feel toasty this autumn as well, says Environment Canada.

The federal agency releases its three-month forecast Friday, calling for warmer-than-average fall temperatures. said meteorologist Kirk Torneby.

“It’s much like the summer — it’s pretty warm and it’s expected to continue,” he said of the prognostication for the Prairies.

Said fellow meteorologist David Phillips: “What you’ve seen is what you’re going to get — nature doesn’t balance things out.”

There’ll be chilly interludes this fall as in other years, said Phillips, but September through November should be warmer than normal.

The first week of September, during which temperatures are forecast to hit the 30 C-range, will set the tone, said Phillips.

“It’s gorgeous if you like beerdrinking, muscle-shirt type of weather,” he said.

This is coming out of a summer in Calgary that’s so far seen 12 days above 30 C, when the average is four to five, with only one occurring in 2016, said Phillips.

The July and August average temperature this summer has been 18.4 C, topping the record 18.1 C set for those months in 1961, he added.

Those balmy temperatures “would be exceptional by themselves, but the fact they were backto-back-to-back is really astounding,” he said.

“All the smoke you’ve been getting (from B.C. wildfires) has robbed you of even more records.”

Meanwhile, the 2018 Canadian Farmers’ Almanac is calling for a warmer-than-normal winter for the Prairies, “with moderate amounts of snow.”

While Phillips enjoys the almanac’s folksy wisdom and other features, he doesn’t consider the publication a credible source of weather forecasts.

“They’re no better than if you came up with a scheme to throw darts,” he said.

If anything, there’s more likelihood of the Prairies enduring a slightly colder winter than last, given the chance of a weak La Nina system associated with colder-thanaverage sea temperatures taking up residence in the Pacific Ocean.

“But we won’t have a long-range forecast for that for another three months,” he said.