May 2023 was Red Deer’s hottest May on record according to 109 years of data.
“With a record that goes back that far it’s significant to declare it the hottest on record,” said Sara Hoffman, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The daily and nightly temperatures averaged 14.4 C in May to eclipse the normal average of 9.7 C.
May 2023 beat the old record of 13.4 C set in 2018. The third hottest May was in 1998 with 13.1 C.
Nine communities in Alberta set average temperature records for the month of May. Fort Chipewyan was the hottest with an average of 15.5 C, almost double its normal average of 7.7 C.
Hoffman said it’s quite possible other Central Alberta communities also broke May records, but their weather data is incomplete and does not go back as far.
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Red Deer started last month with a record-breaking temperature on May 1. The city hit 27.2 C to break the old record of 25.1 C set in 1980.
But Hoffman said setting a new average temperature record for the month means a lot more since daily records are often broken.
Hoffman said above normal temperatures will continue in June for Red Deer. Except for Tuesday, temperatures for the rest of the week are forecast to be well above the normal daytime high of 20 C for June.
The forecast high for Tuesday is 20 C, followed by 28 C on Wednesday, 29 C on Thursday, 28 C on Friday, 31 C on Saturday and 28 C on Sunday.
She said it will be important for people to figure out how to stay cool at home to get a reprieve from the heat, and to protect those who are more vulnerable.
“With so many days in a row of this hot weather, it can compound in the body and cause heat illness a little more easily.”
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Hoffman said Red Deer had the 2oth driest May on record out of the past 109 years.
“We recorded 26.6 mm of rain for the entire month of May and the normal is 55.4 mm, so almost half the normal.”
She said the northern part of Alberta is expected to be dry in June, but for Red Deer, it’s harder to predict.
June and July are traditionally the wettest months for Red Deer, with a normal of 94 mm in June and 94.4 mm in July.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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