Grab your sunscreen and make sure that air conditioner is working, because meteorologists are forecasting a warm summer.
Sara Hoffman, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said this summer is going to be a warmer than normal, and most months will be hot.
“We actually have very high confidence of that. All the seasonal models are pointing to an above-normal summer,” she said.
Meteorological summer runs from June 1 to August 31.
In Western Canada, Hoffman said she has high confidence there will be a build-up of a ridge of high pressure, which means high temperatures.
“We're going to start off June with some well-above-normal temperatures for sure, and probably drier-than-normal conditions,” she said.
The high-pressure ridge is large, expanding across the Prairies and into parts of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and the ridge is slow moving.
“It looks like the first two weeks (of summer are) above-normal temperatures — high probability of that — and that ridge … once they get fed up, it takes a really powerful system to knock them down,” she said.
However, it remains to be seen whether this summer will break records.
“What we don’t have the best confidence on is just how above normal. Are we looking at the hottest summer on record? I can't say that. But we're certainly looking at warmer than normal,” she said.
Hoffman emphasized the importance of being prepared for the heat.
“Does that mean this is the year you invest in air conditioning? Maybe this is the year you want to have that air conditioning repair person out to have a look before they get too busy,” she said.
It is also important to check on the elderly who live alone and don’t have air conditioning.
“It can be really hard to see the effects of heat illness in yourself … unfortunately, those living alone sometimes don't get the care they need as quickly as they need it, because they're not noticing the symptoms in themselves,” she explained.
The heat can also compound pre-existing health conditions like heart disease and lung disease. Elderly or pregnant people, and young children are at an increased risk of having adverse reactions to the heat.
Hoffman cautions people to take the heat seriously.
“I think a lot of folks think, ‘Oh, it's just a nice day. I'm getting a nice-day warning.’ There are real health effects from the heat,” she said.
