People and pups beat the September heat with ice cream

Regina didn’t break its 111-year-old heat record on Monday, but the toasty temperatures still had people and their pups finding ways to stay cool.

The record high temperature for Sept. 16 is 33.3 C, which was set in 1908. However, Environment Canada recorded a high of 31.5 C on Monday; the normal high in September sits around 18 C.

Regina’s Doug Wilson said the warm weather was a good excuse to take himself and his Australian Shepherd, Trek, for an ice cream at Milky Way before heading to the dog park.

“(Trek) always wants a treat … and this is the best dang ice cream in the city,” Wilson said, adding they’ve probably stopped in at the local landmark about a dozen times already over the summer.

Dogs AND @MilkyWayRegina ice cream? Does today’s assignment get any better?! 😭❤️ Here’s Cheryl Tonita and her 3-year-old Border Collie/American Eskimo mix, Linda, embracing this September heat wave. #yqr pic.twitter.com/T6icBaLyyx

— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) September 16, 2019

Cheryl Tonita and her Border Collie-American Eskimo cross, Linda, also drove in from Pilot Butte for a sweet treat.

“I always get her vanilla (ice cream) and they put a little bone on it,” she said. “When we pulled up (at Milky Way) she was like, ‘I know what we’re doing.’ She knows.”

Carol Boldt, co-owner of Milky Way, said they started offering the doggy sundaes years ago after getting approached by customers.

“We had so many people ask and so we said, ‘Well, why not — animals love (ice cream), too!’ ” she remembered. “We just put it in a dish or a cone — whatever the puppy likes — and then we add a couple of little doggy bones to it.”

Milky Way closes for the season Oct. 13.

September heat wave not abnormal, says meteorologist

Monday’s and Tuesday’s heat isn’t abnormal for this time of year, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Dan Kulak.

He said Regina hit 32.6 C on Sept. 2, 2016; on Sept. 9, 2017, the temperature reached 31.9 C.

“It’s because of the jet stream pattern, which is moving to the north of these areas. Really the cooler air is back in central Alberta and more of northern Saskatchewan,” Kulak said.

“The southern parts and eastern prairies of Saskatchewan and into Manitoba, those areas are underneath the dome of warm air that’s still residual from the U.S. summer.”

Tuesday is expected to be hot in the Queen City, too, with a high forecast at 30 C.

Environment Canada predicts the temperature will cool down on Wednesday, hitting a high of 23 C.