The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
After a summer of mainly warm, dry weather in Western Canada and cool, damp weather in Central and Eastern Canada, many people are wondering if fall will bring any significant changes. Meteorologists at The Weather Network say most of British Columbia and Southern Alberta can expect warmer and drier than normal fall weather, while Saskatchewan eastward to Atlantic Canada will still have their share of cooler days but should dry out. "The water temperatures across the Equatorial Pacific have been slowly rising. With this warm pattern in place along the Pacific Coast and no strong signs of a major change coming, we're expecting most of British Columbia and Southern Alberta to average out the fall season warmer and drier than normal," says Bob Anderson, Manager of Meteorological Operations. "Central and Eastern Canada will still see some damp days, but overall the severe thunderstorm risk is dropping off and we're expecting the southern regions of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland to average out the fall season drier than normal. As for temperatures, some damp days early on will make the air seem cooler than it actually is. Overall, near normal fall temperatures are expected for Central and Eastern Canada." Canada's far north will experience some interesting weather over the course of fall. After a warmer than normal summer which featured several days with high temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, the Yukon and Northwest Territories are expected to see snowsquall activity. "The warmer than normal trend that occurred over summer will continue for the next few weeks as the waters in the Bering and Beaufort Seas remain warmer than normal and will help hold the warmth around. But this will prove to be a double-edged sword," says Anderson. "As the sun sinks lower in the sky across the far north, there will be little chance of holding back Mother Nature. As the cold Arctic air pushes southward over the warm waters, the Yukon and Northwest Territories - northern areas especially - should see much more snowsquall activity than normal. Precipitation amounts should start to normalize by mid-November when water temperatures cool down." Meantime, hurricanes are no doubt weighing heavily on the minds of Maritimers after Juan struck with devastating force in September, 2003. Anderson says the Atlantic Ocean waters off the Eastern Seaboard are slightly warmer than normal. As a result the ridge of high pressure that normally resides off the Florida coast is further north, which may allow tropical storms or hurricanes to slip around it and head further north than usual. "If tropical systems form in the Gulf of Mexico and move ashore east of Mississippi, we'll be watching for rain to possibly reach Southern Quebec or the Maritimes. If tropical systems move ashore west of Mississippi, then rainfall may reach parts of Southern Ontario. Tropical systems that move northwards east of Florida should be forced off the East Coast well before the Atlantic provinces," says Anderson.
