Alberta forecast calls for stormy June, followed by hot, dry summer

It’s hard to think of summer when spring has hardly made an appearance, but a recent weather outlook shows we’re in for a hot and dry July and August.

According to Accuweather.com, Alberta might see more thunderstorms than usual in June, but can expect drier and above-average temperatures into the heart of the summer based on the overall jet stream pattern.

“Since this winter, we’ve had big areas of high pressure seeming to want to hang off the west coast of B.C.,” said Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist.

While this weather pattern has brought chilly air through the Prairies much of winter and spring, it usually translates into a hotter summer, Anderson said.

“A northwesterly flow of air tends to bring warm wind to our areas. I do think, especially into July and August, things are going to dry out and get very warm,” he said.

Wildfires could be an issue for the southwestern parts of Alberta with the drier conditions, though the risk is higher for British Columbia, Anderson said.

To jump even further ahead, El Nino conditions are expected to “get going in the Pacific” into the late summer and early fall, which usually means a milder winter.

“There are signs this could be a stronger El Nino than what we’ve seen recently,” Anderson said. “But we’ll know more about that later.”