Hot August nights?
We had a few in the Prince George area in what was a spectacular month for lovers of warm dry summer weather.
Although no temperature records were established, after a wet first day in August when 7.4 millimetres fell, we went through the entire month with only eight days of measurable precipitation (normal is 13 days), and most of that happened at night or in the wee hours of the morning. The month ended on a bit of cooler, cloudier note, with unsettled conditions the last four days.
Total precipitation for August measured 29.3 mm, 57 per cent of the normal 51.1 mm. Until the start of September on Saturday, the city had received 331.5 mm of precipitation, 85 per cent of the 389.6 mm yearly average.
Based on the temperature readings at Prince George airport, Environment Canada reports the city's average high was 23.2 C in August, 1.5 degrees above the 21.7 C normal for the month. The average daily low of 8.2 C was near the 7.9 C normal, while the mean temperature was 15.7 C (normal is 14.8 C).
The warmest day of the month was Aug. 5, when it hit 30.2 C, and the temperature bottomed out on the 26th, dropping to a monthly low of 1.6 C, raising the concern of gardeners all over the city worried about frost wiping out their most tender flowers.
So far this summer, dating back to June, there have been 60 days in which the mercury has reached 20 C or warmer. The June-July-August average is 51 days. We also had three days when the high reached 30 C or hotter. Two days is the average.
The wettest day of summer day so far has been June 25, when we had 25.1 mm of rain. There have been 37 summer days of measurable moisture, while 43 days is the average. The third rainiest June on record contributed to the near-normal total summer precipitation of 131.7 mm, which was within 97 per cent of the 187.3 mm average. The driest summer of record was in 1967 (95.0 mm, while the wettest was in 1954 (351.0 mm).
Environment Canada is forecasting mostly sunny and dry conditions the rest of this week, with highs reaching in the low 20s.
