August expected to be warmer than normal, senior climatologist says

With July coming to an end, many people in Regina are wondering what August has in store weather-wise.

David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Monday he expects August to be hotter than normal, but cooler than July.

“This is going to be the warmest summer — the warmest year on record. It’s almost a done deal,” Phillips said. “They were describing July as the hottest month with a week to go, so that was quite a bit historic.”

According to Phillips, July is usually the Queen City’s hottest month of the year.

“Typically, August is usually about three-quarters of a degree cooler than July,” Phillips said. “If you took a look at the statistics of the thermometers all year long, then Aug. 2 and 3 would typically be the warmest days in Regina. That is what we call the dog days of summer.”

The forecast issued by the weather office Monday morning showed temperatures for Regina hovering around the 30 C mark for the next couple of days.

Phillips added he believes warm oceans have contributed to the heat the entire world has had to deal with this July.

“They’re like hot tubs out there … and every ocean, I mean not just off (the coast) of Florida, but it’s everywhere,” he said.

As far as Regina itself is concerned, Phillips jokingly said the city actually contributed “a little bit of the cooling to the planet” in July.

“Temperatures were about three-quarters of a degree cooler than normal, although, the number of hot days was more than (the city) would normally see,” the senior climatologist added. “(It was) not nearly as hot as Phoenix or Athens, fortunately.”