Our unusually wet summer follows unusually dry spring
Mother nature has not been kind to Edmontonians this year, as numbers from Environment Canada show the city just experienced its driest spring and one of its wettest summers on record.
Kyle Fougere, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said there were 55 days of rain recorded at the Edmonton-blatchford weather station through the months of June, July and August, the second most in 138 years, when weather data was first recorded in the area.
“The most that they’ve ever had was 59 days, and I think that was 1996,” said Fougere. “So the second most rainy days in Edmonton, and then when you look at actual amounts, there were 331 millimetres this year. In a normal summer there’s 233 millimetres, so that would rank it as the eighth wettest of the 138 years.”
Of those months, July had the most rainy days with 21, a record for that month. Despite social media reports that August also had the most rainy days in the city’s history, Fougere said the last month of summer actually recorded 17 days, ranking 12th highest on record.
The wet summer was in direct contrast to Edmonton’s spring, which was the driest on record. The capital only received 25.9 millimetres of precipitation between the beginning of March and the end of May, compared to an annual average of 88.2 millimetres.
Edmonton wasn’t the only part of the province to experience unusual weather.
Fougere said Fort Mcmurray had its third-wettest summer in terms of amount of precipitation, while Medicine Hat experienced drought-like conditions for most of the summer.
“High Level, Edmonton and Lloydminster all had their driest spring on record,” said Fougere.
“High Level received only 2.1 mm of precipitation during those months, compared to an average of 67 mm.”
Unlike Edmonton, High Level’s dry spring was followed by a dry summer.
The northern Alberta community was evacuated earlier this year due to wildfires in the area.
Experts have said that earlier, drier springs attributed to climate change are helping to fuel those fires.
Moving forward, Fougere said Edmonton is expected to continue to receive above average precipitation levels.
He did, however, say there is a silver lining in those forecasts, pointing out fall is one of the hardest times of the year to predict weather.
Fougere said it is difficult to tell if 2019’s unusual weather is a precursor for future years, noting the past two years had below-average precipitation numbers.
For those looking to take in any little bit of summer they possibly can, this weekend’s forecast shows promise, with warm and sunny temperatures expected on Thursday, Friday and through to Saturday.