On the heels of a summer that was warmer than normal for southern Manitoba, the Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada says that same trend will continue this fall. In fact, even though we are now into meteorological fall, David Phillips says there are summer-like temperatures in the forecast into next week.
The normal high for this time of year is 22 degrees.
"I'm just shaking my head when I see the temperatures," notes Phillips. "These are temperatures that could be a dozen or more degrees warmer than normal."
Phillips reminds us just how difficult it is to reach temperatures like that in September. He notes we are losing nearly 3.5 minutes of sunshine every day and the angle of the sun is about 15 degrees lower than it was on June 21st.
"So the sun is not as intense, it's not lasting as long," he explains. "It's harder to go from the lower temperature which typically at this time of the year would be +8 to get up to 30 degrees."
Phillips notes this is exactly what farmers were praying for earlier this year when they put seed into the ground during our very wet spring.
"Their prayers were answered," he says.
According to Phillips, the average temperature in August is only about one degree different than in July. However, the average temperature in September is about six degrees cooler than in August.
As for when southern Manitoba could see its first frost, Phillips says on average that happens September 17th. Last year, the first killing frost only occurred October 20th. He notes the trend in recent years is for the first frost to happen later than normal. Phillips says that bodes well for farmers.
As mentioned, Phillips says meteorological fall, which consists of September, October and November, looks to be warmer than normal for all of Manitoba. He notes we might make it all the way to the first day of astronomical fall on September 22nd when we start to see a real change in the weather.