The calendar may say summer is coming to an end, but we haven’t seen the end of the good weather.
Much of the summer featured dry and hot conditions that left many farmers praying for rain. Well, the rain finally came this week, with more rain falling on the first day of school than both July and August combined. The rain this week will certainly help keep things green as we enter the fall season.
“I’m sure growers, who are in the harvest now, will be thankful for the rain as it will help with the deficit we have had and the late crops like soybeans and grapes can still bulk up with this great rain we will have this week,” said Environment Canada’s senior climatologist David Phillips.
“Farmers were under the gun this season and were able to squeeze out a modest growing season and it could have been far better had the rains come at the right time and it had not been so hot this summer.”
There are still a lot of heat in the lakes, rivers and land and the residual heat will keep temperatures slightly above normal this fall.
“Just because the month has changed, we don’t think the weather will be changing,” said Phillips. “We will see a warm September and October, but those dog days of summer are gone.”
The days are getting shorter and will soon equal out this month, which means that the region will begin to cool off.
“Before you know it we will see a frost and maybe even snow before Remembrance Day,” he said.
The flavour of the fall months will be warmer than normal, said Phillips, adding that there may be some days when the thermometer still reaches 30 degrees.
With the sun lower in the sky it will be easier for the nights to cool things off but not right away.
In the region normal temperatures are 22 degrees during the day and 11 at night but with the cloud cover we will be seeing over the next week those temperatures at night will be three or four degrees warmer, he predicted.
Fall is typically a free energy time, as households do not typically need to use air conditioners or furnaces, which means consumers can save money.
“There is a lot of summer left in the air. Don’t put away the lawn furniture or drain the pool, as we are likely to enjoy many good days yet.”
