In the forecast: ‘Glimmers of hope’ for sun

The sun’s been hiding but it’s coming out soon, predicts Environment Canada after four months in a row of above-average rainfall.

“The good news is that there are glimmers of hope that we will get into some stable and hotter weather,” said Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada, who expects we’ll likely start seeing the stable weather patterns that produce summertime heat by early next week.

And this week is looking brighter with days mixing sun and cloud and highs in the mid-20s from Wednesday through Sunday.

But first, let’s recap the monthslong deluge that has had farmers struggling to grow anything and festivalgoers donning wellies.

“In the month of July so far, we have had 98 mm of rain and we’re only one-third into the month,” Kimbell said. “The normal rainfall for the month of July is 92 mm. We’ve already had more than a full month’s worth of rain and we’re only 10 days into the month.”

Eastern Ontario got far more of the “precipitation anomaly” than those in the rest of the province.

June had 130 mm of rain when normal is 93 mm. May had more than double the normal of 80 mm at 178 mm. April had 148 mm when 75 mm would be typical.

The cause is wave after wave of low-pressure systems as the jet stream dips southward, sending cooler air flowing over the warmed landscape.

Why is hard to say, Kimbell said, pointing to last summer’s drought fears when only 57 mm of rain fell all last July.

“Weather is inherently variable,” he said. “If you average last summer and this summer you’d probably come up with normal.”