August 2023 Summary

A wet month that was cooler than average  

We certainly didn’t see the heat of a typical August, for instance there were no days above 30°C compared to the average of 2.  Also the maximum temperature was 28.5°C, the lowest maximum temperature since 1994.  All of that resulted in an overall temperature that was 1.3 degrees below average, as is hard to call any August “cool”, so let’s call it the “least hot” one since 2008.

The precipitation was consistent throughout the month with a final total of 92.4 mm.  This would have been within the average range using the former long term average (83.9 mm) from 1981-2010, but using the 25 year average from the weather station (66.5 mm), it is now a wetter than average month.

This wet month put the total precipitation so far in 2023 at 728.0 mm, much above the average of 525.8 mm.  It is the tenth wettest year in the history of weather records in the area that go back over 100 years.

Summary for August 2023:

Maximum Temperature 28.5°C
Minimum Temperature 6.4°C
Average Daily High Temperature 24.2°C (Long term average 25.6°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 13.0°C (Long term average 14.2°C)
Total Precipitation 92.4 mm (Long term average 66.5 mm)

(Long term averages based on 1998-2022 data from the Soulis Memorial Weather Station at the University)

July 2023 Summary

A very wet July with average temperatures

The people have spoken! Around 80% of the people who responded thought we should start to use the 25 years of data from the Soulis Weather Station rather than waiting for the updated 30 year averages from Environment and Climate Change Canada.  More details on the differences of making this change will come later, but for right now let’s just concentrate on the changes for this month.

Apart from a few days over 30°C at the beginning of the month and one at the end, most of the rest of the month were consistently in the high 20s.  Here we have the first consequence of the change of the averages, using the old averages it would have been a bit less than degree warmer than average.  However, with the new averages this goes down to only 0.1 degrees, which is now within the average range.  

It was a consistently wet month with 4 days over 20 mm of rain, resulting in a total of 159.2 mm.  This is well above the average of 78.2 mm (it would have also been well above the previous average of 98.6 mm) and quite the contrast to last year when we only got 18.7 mm.  It was also the wettest July since 2014 and in the top 10 in the history of weather records in the region.  

The very wet month put the total for the year of 635.6 mm well above the average of 459.3 mm (the previous average for this time of year was 509.0 mm).


Summary for July 2023:
Maximum Temperature 32.0°C
Minimum Temperature 10.7°C
Average Daily High Temperature 26.5°C (Long term average 26.5°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 15.1°C (Long term average 14.8°C)
Total Precipitation 159.2 mm (Long term average 78.2 mm)

(Long term averages based on 1998-2022 data from the Soulis Memorial Weather Station at the University)

June 2023 Summary

 A very average June for both temperature and precipitation 

Really not that much to say about the temperature during the month of June.  It was a little bit warm at the start of the month (a few days above 30°C), and a bit cooler in the middle (a few days where it didn’t get above 20°C).  Overall, it was about half a degree above average, which still puts it in the average range.

The month started off very dry with a streak of almost three weeks with no precipitation going back to May.  This streak was broken by a couple of wet days with over 40 mm of rain, followed by another dry streak for another week.  A bit more rain in the last week put the total precipitation at 70.8 mm, less than the average of 82.4 mm, but again within the average range. 

With only one below average month so far this year (May), the total precipitation we have seen in the first half of the year of 476.4 mm is above the average total of 416.1 mm.

Summary for June 2023:

Maximum Temperature 31.6°C
Minimum Temperature 5.7°C
Average Daily High Temperature 24.2°C (Long term average 23.6°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 11.9°C (Long term average 11.5°C)
Total Precipitation 70.8 mm (Long term average 82.4 mm)

(Long term averages based on 1981-2010 data for the Waterloo-Wellington Airport)

May 2023 Summary

A very dry May with average temperatures 

I know it was really hot at the end of May, but if you look back to the beginning of the month we had a few single digit temperatures.  In between there were some hot and some cold days, this made the overall temperature just slightly (0.1 degrees) above average.

As well, with the lack of precipitation (see below) and consequently lack of clouds, it made the daytime highs just a bit higher (1.6 degrees above average) and the nighttime lows just a bit lower (1.5 degrees below average).  

The last below zero temperature was May 18th, this is 12 days later than the average in the last 25 years of the Soulis Weather Station and the second latest during that time.  

But maybe a bigger story was the lack of precipitation, particularly the 11 days of dry weather to end the month.  About two thirds of the total precipitation of 31.6 mm came down during the first week, not leaving much for the rest of May, which typically has an average of 82.3 mm.

The first four months of the year were very wet, so even after this dry month, the total for the year of 405.6 mm is still well above the average of 340.2 mm.

Thanks to everyone who came out the to the 25th anniversary open house, it was great meeting people who are interested in the station, answering questions, and showing off the weather station equipment.  As you may have also noticed we have also renamed the station after the late professor Eric (Ric) Soulis, who was of course the driving force behind creating the station.  See pictures from the open house and renaming ceremony here:  http://uwweatherstation.blogspot.com/2023/06/25th-anniversary-open-house-and.html

Summary for May 2023:

Maximum Temperature 31.4°C
Minimum Temperature -1.1°C
Average Daily High Temperature 20.1°C (Long term average 18.5°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 5.0°C (Long term average 6.4°C)
Total Precipitation 31.6 mm (Long term average 82.3 mm)

(Long term averages based on 1981-2010 data for the Waterloo-Wellington Airport)

25th Anniversary Open House and renaming ceremony

February 28, 2023 was the 25th anniversary of the University of Waterloo Weather Station, and on May 18th from 3:30-5:30 pm there was a celebration of this event with an open house at the station along with the official renaming of the station in honour of the late Civil Engineering Professor Ric Soulis. The new name of the weather station will be the 'Eric D. (Ric) Soulis Memorial Weather Station'.  Ric was the driving force behind establishing this station 25 years ago.  

Thanks for everyone who came out!

Here are some pictures from the event:

Technologist Mark Sobon giving a tour of the station equipment.

Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Chair Scott Walbridge addresses the crowd.

Weather Station Coordinator Frank Seglenieks speaks at the event

Carol Moogk-Soulis addresses the crowd

The Soulis family at the open house

CEE professors Scott Walbridge, James Craig,  and Bryan Tolson with Carol Moogk-Soulis