This has been one of the hottest summers the City of Red Deer has ever seen, according to a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
This past Wednesday was a perfect indication of that, as Red Deer tied an 82-year-old record high temperature for Aug. 31 at 31.1 C. The original record was set back in 1940 – Environment Canada has temperature records dating back to 1904 in Red Deer.
August was the third warmest on record for the Red Deer area, meteorologist Kyle Fougere said, adding this has been the seventh warmest summer on record for the region.
“We have this persistent ridge of high pressure that’s been in place for a lot of August and remains in place now,” said Fougere.
“We are going to see this heat continue into the weekend, right through Sunday. Then it looks like on Monday we’re going to see a little bit of a cooling. Temperatures are still expected to stray above normal – typically this time of year we’d see a daytime high of 19 degrees for the City of Red Deer, with overnight lows of six degrees.”
All 12 of Environment Canada’s climatology sites in Alberta recorded one of their top five hottest Augusts on record. (Edmonton and Grande Prairie experienced their hottest August ever this year).
Fougere said the forecast indicates more normal temperatures will come for Red Deer during the middle of next week.
Stettler also matched a record temperature set in 1940 this past Wednesday by reaching 33.3 C. Meanwhile some temperature records fell in other central Alberta communities: Coronation, Nordegg, Sundre and Three Hills. Across the province, 22 temperature records were set.
Environment Canada issued a heat warning Thursday for central Alberta and a huge swath of the province, from as far north as Cold Lake to the province’s southern border.
Daytime highs near 30 C, combined with overnight lows in the low- to mid-teens, will return later this week, said Environment Canada.
Environment Canada encourages Albertans to monitor for symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, such as high body temperature, lack of sweat, confusion, fainting and unconsciousness.
“Pay particular attention to individuals that can experience earlier or more severe effects from heat including infants, children, seniors, and individuals with pre-existing lung, heart, kidney, nervous system, mental health or diabetic conditions, outdoor workers, as well as those who are socially isolated,” says Environment Canada’s heat warning.
Heat warnings are issued when very high temperature conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.