Calgary saw a rain-filled July, but it was nowhere near the current record
Many people in Calgary may have felt like July was drenched in rain, and although it was, it was nowhere near the record holder amount.
Calgarians took to social media to discuss how rainy it was in the city this July, especially after the Stampede had wrapped up, and we twirled toward the end of the month.
Daily Hive chatted with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) scientist Christy Climenhaga regarding how much rain Calgary saw in July, and how it stacks up in the record books.
One thing Climenhaga stated right off the bat was that it was definitely a wetter-than-normal month for YYC, with the total collected at the Calgary International Airport station sitting at 162.1 millimetres as of Tuesday, July 29.
“It’s over double the normal for the month of July. Usually, Calgary would see 65.7 millimetres of precipitation in July,” she said.
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However, to put that total into perspective, it’s not record-breaking and is more on par with being the third wettest July Calgary has seen.
The wettest July on record goes back to 1927, when the city saw 245.4 millimetres of rain, followed by 2016 with 206.1 millimetres.
Climenhaga also touched on our pals up in Edmonton, who saw just 36.8 millimetres of rain in July, with a normal amount landing at 82.7 millimetres.
If your neck of the woods felt rainier than what the Calgary International Airport station collected, Climenhaga added that very well could be the case due to thunderstorms sometimes creating heavy amounts of localized precipitation.
“That’s why precipitation forecasts can be tricky. You can see a big storm that dumps a month of rain in a couple of days. Precipitation can be hit or miss depending on where you are.”
If you are curious as to how the forecast for August is shaping up for Alberta and if you should be packing sunblock or an umbrella, we’ve got you covered with what you could expect.