The warm, incredibly dry spring is likely to turn into a warm, incredibly dry summer for the Grande Prairie area. Weather Network Meteorologist Tyler Hamilton says it’s a tale of two provinces when it comes to Alberta in 2019.
“In terms of precipitation forecast we have no serious drought concerns for southern sections, but as you trend north, and where the fire activity is, we are well below normal precipitation wise and we expect that to continue.”
Hamilton says according to The Weather Network’s 2019 Summer Forecast, which was released on Monday, a small bit of relief could be just over the horizon to help calm the raging wildfires in northwestern Alberta, but it isn’t a guarantee.
“There is no strong warmth signal for June, and that could be our saviour. If we could get some storm activity from coastal British Columbia that could spread and lift over the Rocky Mountains, or even some moisture from the Gulf of Alaska spilling out, that could help us out a lot as we track towards July and August.”
Hamilton adds the fickle nature of rainfall, especially in northwestern Alberta, makes true long term forecasting a nightmare for this part of the country.
“A couple of kilometres away from a thunderstorm could be bone dry but that neighbour could have a flooded basement. Summer can be a very chaotic season to forecast.”
As of 10 a.m. on May 27th, Alberta Wildfire says 24 total fires are burning across Alberta.