As we head into the midpoint of summer with the arrival of the August long weekend in Saskatchewan, comes with it blazing heat over the next few days.
While temperatures won’t force a heat warning, it will still be a toasty weekend as Environment and Climate Change Canada Scientist Christy Climenhaga explains.
“It's been a cooler run to the end of end of July in much of Saskatchewan. But we're seeing that change,” she explained.
“We're looking at more through the weekend temperatures close to the 30 mark, today. tomorrow and Sunday, maybe just in the high 20s, but still very, very warm.”
For the most part, it looks like there won’t be much thunderstorm activity in the area throughout the weekend, although Climenhaga noted there’s a slight chance on Saturday.
“There is the risk of some thunderstorm activity for tomorrow (Saturday). Generally, non-severe storms, but there will likely be some slow-moving storms. Someone may be dropping quite a bit of rain, so it is a good idea to keep an eye on watches and warnings as well as.”
A smoky haze has been common throughout the area this summer, and Climenhaga says it will still be a presence throughout weekend, but not as significant as areas to the north and closer towards the Manitoba border.
“We're not seeing a lot of flow right now. We're kind of in the upper ridge pattern, which is keeping our keeping our flow fairly slow in the prairies.”
She noted that if you’re staying around the Candle Lake area, you’ll notice the smoke from the northern wildfires.
With the warm weather Climenhaga said it’s a good idea to have water with you if you’re outside and to take breaks from the heat.
With the smoke in the air, Climenhaga recommends individuals like seniors, young children and infants, those who are pregnant, those with pre-existing conditions to take some breaks into cleaner air to avoid issues with the air.