As we head into July and look back on the month of June, precipitation and temperatures were below average says Environment Canada.

Meteorologist, Terri Lang explains that the Moose Jaw area only received 34 per cent of the average precipitation usually seen in June.

“It came out on the dry side in the Moose Jaw area,” explains Lang. “For the month, totals of only 24.9 millimetres of rain were recorded at the airport, and that’s compared to a 30-year average of 72.7 mm. That makes it the 13th driest June in 129 years.”

Moose Jaw received the second-lowest amount of rain in the province, ahead of Regina which only saw 13.1 mm of precipitation fall. Swift Current was just above Moose Jaw with their rainfall totals, seeing only 31.2 mm.

Meadow Lake saw the most rainfall in June as it had 174.2 mm of precipitation, which was much more than the 66.5 mm average usually seen.

EC June Rain Stats July 5 (2).PNG Photo credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

Though the area has only seen 3.3 mm fall so far through the first six days of July, looking ahead Lang notes more rain is on the way this week.

“There’s a number of weather systems that are coming up from the states and bringing showers, thundershowers, and a risk of severe weather.”

She couldn’t predict rainfall amounts for this weekend but says they will be highly variable.

Temperatures in June in Moose Jaw were the hottest in the province, but according to Environment Canada statistics still cooler than average.

“The average temperature came out to 16.8 degrees Celsius, and that’s compared to a 30-year average of 17.2, so just slightly below average. With respect to temperatures, it was the 45th warmest in 126 years.”

June EC Temp Stats July 5 (2).PNG Photo credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada. 

There were only two days in June that exceeded the 30-degree mark for a high. June 17, was the first day coming in with a high of 31.1 degrees, and June 18, was the second reaching 35.9 degrees, which broke a single-day heat record for that day.

Lang says that though June was below-average in terms of temperatures, early models are showing more heat in July.

“We should start seeing some of those warmer temperatures moving in. They’ll probably come in waves meaning a couple of days of warmer temperatures, and then cooling off with some thundershowers and then a rebuild into some warmer temperatures.”

Swift Current saw a monthly mean temperature average of 15.7 degrees, with Regina a little higher at 16.5 degrees for the month. The mean temperature is the average temperature of the air as indicated by a properly exposed thermometer during a given time period, usually a day, a month, or a year.

The monthly forecast is showing temperatures in July to be above the 26.1-degree average high for the month.