A New Record for 30°C Days

On August 5th the High temperature at Blatchford hit 31.8°C.

That was the 15th time this year that we had reached the 30°C mark.

30°C Days

The bars here are the total number of 30°C Highs each year, and 2021's 15 Highs is a new record. It beats the 14 from 1961, and below that 2002 and 1933 both had 13.

28°C Days

These are the number of 28°C each year, and as of August 5th 2021 is tied with 1961 with 28. And 2021 is also tied with 1961 for the most 29°C days, with 21.

31°C Days

On the slightly hotter side of things 2021 has had 13 days reach 31°C, which is well ahead of 2nd place 2002's 9.

You can also use the dashboard to poke around for different temperatures ranges:

• 32°C: 2021 has the most, with 7. 2002, 1961 & 1936 all had 6.
• 33°C: 2021, 2002 & 1936 all had 4.
• 34°C: 2021 has 4, and 1924 had 3.
• 35°C: 2021 & 1924 are tied with 3.
• 36°C: 2021 had 2, and the only other years to get that warm were 1937 & 1924 each with 1.

Around Edmonton

For the stations around Edmonton this has also been a hot year with 2021 (on the right) setting a new 30°C record for Stony Plain, and getting close to the records for Campsie and Ft. Saskatchewan (and the Ft. Saskatchewan station is also missing data for a bunch of days this summer). The airport, for whatever reason, has onlt had 8 days hit 30°C, and that's still a lot, but it's well below its record of 19 from 1961.

30°C Season

In this chart each colourful rectangle represents a single day which hit 30°C, going back to 1880. The earliest day of the year to hit 30°C was April 25th in 1977, and the latest was September 28th in 1887.

The most common day of the year to hit 30°C has been July 22nd, with 12 since 1880, or about 8.5% of the time. That likelihood of a hot day drops off as we get later into the year, but our season of possible 30°C Highs really lasts until around August 18th. After that they become a one-in-140 year chance.

So we do still have a little bit of time left this summer to maybe get a few more 30°C days.

August Long Weekend 2021

The average temperatures for the August long weekend in Edmonton are a High of 23.9°C, and a Low of 13.9°C.

In 2021 the Friday, Saturday & Sunday were all really warm at 29.4°, 31.3°C & 29.3°C. And then on the Monday the smoke really rolled-in, and the High only reached 21°C. The average High for all 4 days was 27.8°C, which still made it one of the warmest recent August long weekends, along with 2020 & 2003.

The Lows were all between 16.9°C and 18°C, which is warm, but not as warm as 2020's which ranged from 17.9°C to 18.9°C.

And there was no rain recorded at the Blatchford station, which is the story of this summer so far.

July 2021 Review

It's time to take a look back at Edmonton weather for a fairly eventful July, 2021.

(if you are reading this in the distant future some of the dashboards below may have updated to reflect new data or formatting, or they may be broken, or they may no longer make sense. To see the original images for this post refer to this twitter thread.)

High Temperatures   

July 2021 started with the end of a heatwave, and it stayed quite warm through mid-month. Then the smoke rolled in and we set a record coldest-High for July 18th of 13.9°C. And then it warmed up again, and ended with a new record High of 31.3°C for July 31st. 

Overall 8 Highs were below average, and 21 were above.

 

In July 2021 we had 21 Highs reach 25°C, compared to an average of 12 for July. That included 7 at 30°C, compared to an average of 2.4. We also had one July High below 15°C, which hadn't happened since 2014.

Hot Days So Far   

For hot days so far we have had 13 Highs hit 30°C. That is tied for 2nd with 2002 and 1933, and it just behind the record of 14 from 1961. 

We have also had 12 Highs hit 31°C, which is a record. 2002 is in 2nd place with 9 31°C days, and then 1933 and 1936 both had 8.

Our peak 30°C season lasts until about August 18th (after that they become much less frequent), so we might see some more this summer.

 

For 25°C Days we have had 36 so far, and on average we will get another ~10 in August. 2020 and 2019 only had 23 and 20 respectively during the entire summer, while 2014-2018 were all up in the range of 40-55.

Low Temperatures   

For Low temperatures July 2021 started with the heatwave, and set new warmest-record Lows on July 1st at 23.4°C (the warmest overnight Low ever recorded in Edmonton), as well as on July 2nd, 3rd, and then one more on July 15th.

Overall 25 Lows were above average, with 6 below.

 

For the overnight Lows, in July 2021 we didn't have a single one below 10°C. Recently that had only happened in 2016, 2007 and 2006. On average we get about 4 of those cooler nights each July.

Warm and Cold Months   

Overall July 2021's average High of 25.9°C ranks as Blatchford's 6th warmest July, while the average Low of 14.9°C is #2 warmest.

2007 was the warmest July on record, with an average High of 26.6°C and Low of 15.2°C.

July 2021 Across Canada   

Looking across Canada July 2021 was above average in the west, and below average in the east. That ranged from Winnipeg Highs at 3.5°C above their July average, to Ottawa at 1.4°C below theirs.

 

This chart is a little messy, but on the prairies July 2021 average temperatures were mostly top-10ish. For Edmonton it was the Highs and the Lows, for Calgary the Lows, for Regina the Highs and the Lows, and for Winnipeg the Highs.

 

...while in central and eastern Canada July 2021 was nowhere near the top-10.

June + July

...July was Edmonton's #6 warmest July, and June was #1 warmest June. Together, they are our warmest June + July on record, by a pretty convincing margin. 2021's average High of 25.4°C beats 2002 at 24.7°C and 2015 at 24.6°C. The average Low of 14°C beats 13.1°C from 2006 and 2007.

 

...and the hot June + July was common across the prairies, with top-10 average Highs for these 4 cities, and top-10 Lows for Edmonton, Calgary, and Regina (Winnipeg's Lows were 21st warmest).

Precipitation

On average July is our rainiest month, with June as #2. Together June and July average 160mm of precipitation.

In 2021 Blatchford received 45.1mm, which is its #1 lowest since 1881. The airport's 81mm was its #3 lowest since 1961. And Stony Plain's 47.3mm is its #1 lowest since 1966.

 

On average July has 15 days with measurable rain, and in 2021 the International had 9, Stony Plain had 6, and Blatchford was down at 4.

 

For the year so far Blatchford's 130mm of precipitation is its #2 lowest full year on record, after 1889 with 119mm. The airport's 213mm is its 6th lowest, and Stony Plain's 138mm is its lowest. The average for the end of July is 294mm.

 

This is another messy one, but it has the precipitation for all of the local stations. 

The Airport is the outlier with its 213mm. St. Albert and New Sarepta are both around 170mm, and then the rest are below 150mm.

Precipitation Across Canada

This chart is a little messy again, but it has precipitation for cities across Canada.

The only city here with above-average precipitation in 2021 in St. John's, and that is just a bit above average. Winnipeg is having its driest year on record, after a series of dry years.

August Temperatures

Thinking ahead to August, on average we have 25 Highs which reach 20°C, including ~10 above 25°C. And about half of the time August hits 30°C. Most Lows are in the 10-15°C range, but about half of the time August will have a night below 5°C. And August is our 3rd rainiest month averaging 52mm of precipitation.