MISSISSAUGA – After last year’s cool, damp "Summer that Never Was” in much of the country, the question many Canadians now have is, "Will the summer of 2005 be more, well, summer-like?"
In its just-released 2005 Summer Outlook available at www.theweathernetwork.com, meteorologists at The Weather Network say yes.
"For most of Canada we should see a return to the more traditional types of weather that we’ve come to expect from summer, such as sunnier days and occasional periods of hotter than normal temperatures," says meteorologist Lloyd Butler. "Overall we’re expecting a pretty normal summer for most of the country."
While the weather should allow for plenty of camping, boating and lying on the beach, your outdoor plans could be impacted by fire bans, watering restrictions and the Mountain Pine Beetle in Western Canada. You may also need to watch out for fire bans, watering restrictions and poor air quality days in Eastern Canada.
Meantime, while near normal precipitation is currently forecast for the summer for Southern Ontario, Southern Quebec, the Maritimes and Newfoundland, that could all change depending on the track and timing of Caribbean and Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes, says the weather specialty service.
"We’re currently calling for near normal summer precipitation amounts for Eastern Canada, but the problem is going to be when tropical storm and hurricane activity kicks in. If any tropical activity develops early in the season and the western part of the Gulf of Mexico remains warmer than normal as it has been for a while now, tropical systems should get steered into the southern part of Texas and their remnants will be more likely to move northward into Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec," says Butler.
"The Maritimes and Newfoundland meantime stand a better chance of being affected by tropical storms and hurricanes that form out in the Atlantic later in the season around July and August. If this turns out to be the case, then the Maritimes and Newfoundland could end up wetter than normal for summer."
For a complete overview of The Weather Network’s 2005 Summer Outlook including temperature and precipitation maps, visit www.theweathernetwork.com.
Beginning this evening, viewers can also tune into The Weather Network on TV for the Summer Outlook with Chris Murphy at :12 and :42 minutes past each hour.
