We can all breathe a sigh of relief with the September forecast for Alberta
The September forecast for Alberta is out, and if you’re hoping for an easy-going month after a volatile summer, we have some good news for you.
We chatted with Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), to get the lowdown on what we can expect to see in the month ahead.
September is typically when Alberta starts making the transition from summer into fall, meaning temperatures will gradually cool as the month goes on. But according to Proctor, temperatures are expected to remain fairly normal across the province during the first half of September before trending warmer than normal in the second half.
But what is normal? Well, for Edmonton, the average daytime high in September is around 18°C, while at nighttime the lows dip to 5°C.
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Meanwhile, in Calgary, the average daytime high is slightly warmer at 19°C, with overnight lows also averaging around 5°C.
Precipitation-wise, much of Alberta is looking to be on the drier side, particularly through central parts of the province. The exception, Proctor said, will be eastern parts of Alberta, with wetter-than-normal conditions expected along the Saskatchewan border, stretching from the Cypress Hills up to Lloydminster, as well as around the Athabasca Delta and Fort Chipewyan areas.
As the month progresses, Proctor added that the province is expected to see even less precipitation than usual, with the second half of September trending drier across almost all of Alberta.
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“I think after all the wild weather we’ve experienced through much of the summer across much of the province, I think we could probably use a bit of a break,” Proctor said. “A nice, calm September might be a nice way to look at things. And I know it’ll make a lot of the farmers much happier to try and get out there and do harvesting.”
Proctor also said that September will begin to see the effects of El Niño ramping up, which could contribute to warmer and drier conditions as we move further into the autumn season.
“Typically for us with a fairly significant El Niño, as we move through fall towards winter, it should be getting warmer compared to normal and drier, especially along the mountains for us.”
So, while the slide from summer into fall is inevitable, the month ahead is shaping up to be relatively calm, and frankly, we all deserve the break!
As we progress into winter, OpenSnow, a U.S. based forecast service, is also calling for above-normal temperatures for a large swath of Alberta, including areas like Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat.