It’s been a mean summer so far

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2009 (6110 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEEN cursing the weather lately?

You have reason to, according to Environment Canada.

It seems that Winnipeg is poised to tie a dubious record this month. If July remains colder than normal — and it likely will — it will mark the eighth consecutive month in which the city’s mean temperature has been meaner than normal.

That would match a string of bad weather reached only twice before since 1971, when such statistics started being kept.

The mean temperature is the average of all the highs and lows for the month.

Dale Marciski, an Environment Canada meteorologist, said the last time Winnipeg had eight consecutive months of cooler-than-normal temperatures was in the mid-1990s (October 1995 through May 1996). It also occurred from November 1978 to June 1979.

So far in July, Winnipeg’s mean temperature has been 15.8 C. The normal for the month is 19.5 C.

Marciski said that gap will probably close somewhat, as warmer temperatures are expected this weekend and into next week.

"But I can’t see it getting back even to the normal (mark) by the end of the month. That’s too big of a gap to close," he said Thursday.

Winnipeggers wanting to enjoy the outdoors this month have also suffered higher-than-normal precipitation.

At the airport, there were 79.0 millimetres of rain in the first 15 days of July. The normal amount for the entire month is 70.6. Some areas of the city, such as Charleswood, have already had more than 100 mm this month, Marciski said.

The meteorologist said the summer of 2008 was also cooler than normal — until August. Then from August through November, temperatures were above normal.

"We can’t guarantee that this year, though," he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

 

MAY

Normal mean temperature:

12.0 C

This year’s mean:

8.3

 

 

 

JUNE

Normal mean temperature:

17.0

This year’s mean:

15.6

 

 

 

JULY

Normal mean temperature: 19.5

This year’s mean so far:

15.8

 

 

(The mean temperature is calculated by averaging the highs and lows for each day of the month.)