Summer will be season of ‘changeability,’ says TWN

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 graphic provided by The Weather Network, the weather agency is calling for a near average summer for Eastern Ontario. (TWN via Newswatch Group)

SD&G – If you’re looking for a hot, dry summer like the one we experienced last year, The Weather Network says you’ll be sadly disappointed.

“We’re really not expecting to see that this year,” meteorologist Michael Carter told Newswatch about the TWN summer outlook for the months of June through August.

The Weather Network is calling for temperatures around normal and near normal to above normal precipitation in Eastern Ontario.

“We’re expecting more humidity overall, more frequent rain showers, heavier rain showers as well as the potential for some back-and-forth in temperatures which will probably lead to overall temperatures near normal for the season.”

If there’s a silver lining to the forecast, Carter said they don’t expect a repeat of the drought that plagued the region in 2016.

He said Eastern Ontario won’t get a chance to dry out from the soggy spring even though the rain events will turn into more localized showers. “For folks who are a little bit waterlogged from the excessive precipitation we’ve had this spring, that unfortunately is not great news. We don’t see any signs of an extended period of dry conditions for the next three months.”

The normal average high temperature for SD&G is 24.3 degrees in June, 27 in July and 25.7 in August. Average monthly rainfall is 90-100 millimeters (3.54-3.93 inches).

If you want to get away and find some hot, dry summer conditions, you’re probably not going to find it in Canada.

“Persistent heat is really going to be tough to come by this year. The real story of this summer is going to be changeability, much like we saw with the spring,” Carter said.

Looking back at the spring outlook for March-May, Carter said the only surprises were the temperatures in May.

“We were a little bit taken by surprise by the extended, persistent cooler conditions that we saw. In terms of precipitation, we did expect above normal precipitation for the Great Lakes basin. We didn’t expect it to push quite as far east as Eastern Ontario.”

“Overall, that’s not a terribly surprising result,” Carter said, considering May was at the far end of their outlook (three months in advance).