Jul. 9, 2014 1:08 a.m.
After a gruelling, snowy winter and a cooler and more waterlogged than usual spring, summertime is here at last — with the first temperature of above 30 C forecast for the weekend.
According to Environment Canada, Saturday’s anticipated temperature of 29 C for Red Deer will be topped by an expected 31 C for Sunday. While that’s not likely to break the record of 33.8 C for July 13 — we’ll take it!
“There’s a ridge of high pressure that’s slowly building up,” said meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau, so we’ll have sunny weather through the weekend after a brief “kink” this (Wed.) evening.
Charbonneau said a low pressure system that’s sweeping the Northwest Territories will push some cooler air into Alberta tonight.
This meeting of cold northern gusts and warm air from further south will mean a 60 per cent chance of rain, and the possibility of thundershowers.
“There’s definitely the possibility of some severe thunderstorms developing . . . but it’ll go by real quick,” she added.
Thursday’s expected high of 23 C and Friday’s 22 C will build to much warmer temperatures on the weekend. This is good news for seasonal businesses, which are looking at bringing in more staff to keep up with higher customer demand.
The boat rental business on Sylvan Lake is expecting to be hopping — which is fantastic for Chris Bowers, owner of SunSport Recreation, who feels it’s about time summer got here.
“June was just awful. I’ve been here, this is my 17th season, and last June (2013) was the worst, but this June was the second worst,” said Bowers.
People keeping an eye on weekend weather forecasts are already pre-booking some rental boats and jet skis. “When it gets real warm, we spend a lot of time turning people away,” he added, once all the equipment is checked out.
Down the road, Chabonneau thinks Monday and Tuesday’s temperatures will dip closer to July’s average high of 22 C.