September 2024 Review

It's time for our big look back at Edmonton weather for September 2024.

September 2024 started with some heatwaves, and the average High of 21.6°C was our 6th warmest on record. just a bit below 2022's 21.9°C. The average Low of 9.2°C was the 2nd warmest, just behind 2022's record of 9.4°C.



High Temperatures

September started off hot, with two batches of 30°C days. Then for the rest of the month it was mostly a little above average, but cooled off right at the end. Overall there were only 6 below-average Highs. The hot days set 2 new records on the 6th and 8th.

September 2024 had 5 30°C days, which is the most ever recorded. September averages 3 25°C days, and 2024 had 7. And it averages 8 20°C days, and 2024 had 19. We didn't have any Highs below 10°C, which happens about half of the time.



Hot Days So Far

We've probably seen the final 30°C day of 2024. It's had 16, which is the 2nd most on record, behind 2021's 17. 2021's 30°C days stretched from late-June through mid-August. 2024's were all in July & September.

2024 had 26 Highs reach 28°C, which is the 3rd most on record. 1961 had 28, and 2021 had 32. 2024's 45 25°C days is above our average of around 32, but it's below 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017 & 2015.



Low Temperatures

September 2024 set 2 new record waremst-Lows on 7th and 25th. Overall there were only 3 below-average Lows, and the coldest was 3.2°C on the 21st.

September had 1 Low reach 15°C, which has only happened 6 other times, most recently in 2022. And it didn't record any frosts, which happens about half of the time. Blatchford's last September with frost was 2019.



First Frost of Fall

For the outlying stations Campsie's first frost was September 10th, just behind its average of the 6th. The airport's was the 21st, when its average is the 10th. Blatchford's average is September 28th, but 2022 & 2023 were October 23rd & 22nd. Where will 2024 end up?



Warm & Cold Months

The warm September joins July here as a large orange bubble. The High of 21.6°C was 4.7°C warmer than the 20th century average. The Low of 9.2°C was 4.6°C warmer.



The Horserace

With 3 months left in the year, 2024 is our 16th warmest year on record, and 1.6°C warmer than the 20th century average. Separately the Highs are only 26th warmest, while the Lows are 9th warmest.



Across Canada

September 2024 was above average across the whole county. Regina was at the top, whose average High of 25.5°C was 6.6°C warmer than their 20th century average.



Precipitation

In September we average 34mm of precipitation. In 2024 Stony Plain was a little high with 37mm, while the airport & Blatchford were low with 28mm & 22mm.

By the end of September we average 393mm of precipitation. In 2024 the local stations are well below that, because of the dry July. The airport's 320mm is the highest, followed by 315mm at Blatchford, with the rest below that.

September 2024 was a pretty quiet month for storms. The biggest was the 26th with about 10mm around town. September averages 10 days with precipitation, and 2024 was pretty typical.

For total precipitation for the year so far Halifax, St. John's & Toronto are all over 1000mm. For Halifax & St. John's that's pretty average, but for Toronto it's the most ever recorded for January-September. Their 1012mm in 2024 is well above 2nd place 2013's 891mm.

For big September storms: - Halifax had 53mm and Moncton had 48mm on the 7th - Toronto had 48mm on the 23rd - Calgary had a surprising 43mm on the 12th



October

For October, we average about 1~2 Highs of 20°C, but half of the time there are none. October also averages 2 Highs below 0°C, and 14 freezing Lows. And...7cm of snow on average, although 2021 & 2022 had none.

October, along with April, are the strange months where the Highs haven't warmed up much over the years. The Lows have crept up, but the Highs are in the same range that they've been for a century (although October 2022 was very warm).

The Hot Start to September 2024

The hot start to September 2024 is not completely usual, because we had something fairly similar in 2022. And 2009 was another hot one. But this was still pretty notable, so let's take a closer look... https://edmontonweathernerdery.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-hot-start-to-september-2024.html

The average High in early-September is around 20°C. The average High for September 1-8th of 2024 was 28.3°C. That included 2 daily records on the 6th & 8th, and 5 30°C days. September 6th was the warmest of them at 32.1°C.

Hot September Days

September 6th's 32.1°C ties September 4th 2022 as the 8th warmest September day on record. September 1st, 2nd, 7th & 8th also made it into the top-20.

September 2024 has had 5 Highs reach 30°C, which is the most on record for September.

That's ahead of 4 in 1981, and 3 in 2022, 2009, 1967 & 1950.



2024 So Far

The hot September gives 2024 16 Highs of 30°C. That's the 2nd most on record, just behind 2021's 17. 

2021's stretched from June 22nd to August 15th. In 2024 we didn't get to 30°C in May, June, or August, but had a record-breaking July & September.

Edmonton's 16 30°C Highs for 2024 put it ahead of most of the cities here. 

The only ones with more are Kelowna's 50, Regina's 22, and Saskatoon's 17. 

The closest comparable year is 1981, where Edmonton was above average (11), and central Canada was below.



Highs In-A-Row

We had 3 30°C Highs in-a-row on September 6th, 7th & 8th. That ties with September 2nd, 3rd & 4th from 2022 for the record. 

September 1981, 1950 & 1938 all had 2 30°C days in-a-row.



Records

The hot start to September set 2 new record Highs on the 6th and 8th, and one new record Low on the 7th. 

2024 has now had 11 record Highs, which is the 2nd most, behind 1899's 14. 

2024 now has 12 record Lows, which ties 2021 for 2nd most, behind 2023's 15.



The 30°C Season

Are we done? We're definitely near the end of our 30°C season, although the latest 30°C day on record was September 28th, 1887. 

Recently September 25th 2011 got to 31.9°C, and September 23rd 2009 got to 33.2°C.



Calgary

Calgary was also warm, with 4 30°C days, including 3 in-a-row. The warmest they got was 31.7°C, which was a new record for September 7th.

August 2024 Review

It's time to take a look back at Edmonton weather for August 2024. What do we think this month: was it hot or cold, or rainy or dry? 

Following our hottest July on record, August 2024 was a little more sedate. 

The average High of 24.3°C was our 20th warmest on record: similar to 2023, 2021, 2017, 2015... 

The average Low of 13.4°C was 5th warmest. 2022 has the record at 14.5°C



High Temperatures

August didn't have any Highs which were super hot, or super cold. But the month finishes with 22 above-average Highs, and 9 below-average.

August 2024 didn't have any 30°C days, for the first time since 2019. 

But it did have 13 25°C days, when the average is 9, and 27 25°C days, when the average is 21. 

The coldest High was 17.5°C on the 16th.



Hot Days So Far

As fall approaches, 2024 has had 11 30°C days (all in July) which is the 5th most on record. 

It has had 21 28°C days, which is 9th most. 

And its 38 25°C days is around average for a full year, although we might get a few more of those.



Low Temperatures

August 2024 has 1 record warmest Low of 16.5°C for August 12th. 

And overall there were 27 Lows above average, and 4 below.

August's Lows usually fall in a pretty narrow band between 8~18°C, and 2024 was no exception.

The coldest was 8.3°C on the 29th, and the warmest was 17.7°C on the 2nd. August only had the single Low below 10°C, when the average is around 8.



Warm & Cold Months

After the warmest July on record, August appears here as a medium-sized orange bubble. 

 The High of 24.3°C was 2.3°C warmer than the 20th century average. The last time that we had a below-average August was 2019. 

The Low of 13.4°C was 3.8°C warmer.



Across Canada

Across the country August was most above average on the prairies and the east coast. 

St. John's average High of 23°C was 3.2°C warmer than their 20th century average. 

On the other end Toronto's 26.0°C was just 0.3°C warmer than theirs.



A Hot Summer?

For the big summer months of June-August the Highs in Kelowna, Edmonton, and the east cost were all top-10 warmest on record. 

Dawson City, Montréal and Quebec City were all around top-15.

And the rest of the country ranged from 23rd (Calgary) to 75th (Winnipeg).



Precipitation

After a really dry July, August 2024 was a little above the average of 53mm.

Stony Plain had 66.9mm, Blatchford had 69mm, and the airport had 75.5mm.

By the end of July we average 349mm of precipitation. In 2024 the local stations are well below that, because of the dry July.

Both Blatchford and the airport are at 292.3mm, and the other stations are all lower.

August 2024 was a pretty quiet month for storms.

The biggest were the 4th with 15.6mm at Blatchford and 17 at the airport, and the 22nd had 21.6mm at Stony Plain.

For total precipitation for the year so far Halifax & St. John's are battling at around 950mm. But Toronto and Montréal are close, thanks to some historically massive storms.

Dawson City & Kelowna are below 200mm. Calgary's 429mm is well ahead of Edmonton's 292mm.

Toronto's 914mm is the most precipitation they've ever recorded for January-August, well ahead of 2nd place 829mm in 2013. Montreal's 881mm is their 7th most on record.

For big August storms:

• Montréal had 154mm (its biggest day on record) on August 9th (Quebec City got 82mm, and Ottawa got 46mm)
• Toronto had 128mm (it's biggest day on record) on August 17 (that followed a 98mm day in July)
• Calgary had 53mm on the 5th

Toronto and Montréal don't get 75mm days very often, but they both had 2 of them this summer. And 2024 was the first time that either of them had recorded a day over 100mm.



September

For September we average 11 days at 20°C, including 3 at 25°C. Since 2000 only 6 Septembers had a High below 5°C. 

For Lows, about half of the time September is frost-free, but below-freezing days can start to creep in at the end of the month.