Summer 2019 Will Be A Tale Of Two Canadas, The Weather Network Forecasts

Don’t expect the deadly heat felt in Ontario and Quebec last year.

David Friend The Canadian Press /HUFFPOST

The weather this summer could be starkly different across the country, according to the latest long range forecast from The Weather Network.

Chief meteorologist Chris Scott predicts the wet weather that Ontario and Quebec have experienced in May will continue during the summer months and could lead to a heightened risk of flash flooding in some areas.

In sharp contrast, he’s forecasting more hot, dry weather for most of western Canada, raising the wildfire threat, which has already prompted evacuations in northwestern Alberta.

“We expect the wildfire risk to be heightened this summer,” said Scott, adding that there will be an “above normal season” for wildfires for most of B.C., western Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

But Scott said generally this summer won’t be remembered for its heat — except for B.C. — which he noted was expected to be “the king of the heat this summer.”

Scott broke down the summer forecast region by region:

British Columbia

He said B.C. can expect a hotter and drier than normal summer which will bring a consistent threat of wildfires.

“We’ve already seen some warm days and we expect June overall will continue that trend,” he said.

He also the warned the heat and lack of rain could be particularly hard on urban residents because of the possibility of water restrictions.

Prairies

Scott said his network is predicting slightly below average precipitation for the Prairies, but not to the point where farmers should be concerned about drought conditions.

“Alberta’s always the swing province in terms of weather,” he said. “We expect that to be the case again this summer with it really flipping between warm and cool depending on the week.”

The network is predicting near normal temperatures in general for the Edmonton to Calgary corridor, with precipitation also close to normal.

“We’ll get our normal share of active summer weather — thunderstorms, hail storms,” Scott said, adding “it’s part of living in that part of the country.”

The forecast for Saskatchewan and Manitoba calls for slightly lower than normal summer temperatures, with close to average precipitation.

Ontario and Quebec

Scott expects seasonally cooler conditions in northern Ontario and Quebec, and “near normal” temperatures in the southern parts of the provinces, which together will increase the chance of rain.

He said southern Ontario and Quebec will get their hot days, but there won’t be as many as last summer.

“Last summer was a deadly one,” Scott said, referencing the heat-related deaths in Quebec. “We don’t expect this summer to be as hot.”