Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Summer 2009 summary
An average summer for both temperature and precipitation
This summary would have been a lot different if we used meteorological summer (June, July, August) rather than astronomical summer (summer solstice to autumnal equinox). The weather in these first 3 weeks of September has been quite a contrast to the rest of the summer.
It was cold in July, average in August and warm in September, this all balanced out to an overall temperature just 0.1 degrees less than average. Obviously this is within the average range.
We were pretty much average for precipitation at the beginning of September, but only managed to barely stay in the average range by the end of the summer. We were saved by 11.0 mm on the very last full day of summer, following 20 days without any significant precipitation.
I think that people can be forgiven for thinking that the summer was wetter than it really was as there was only a single weekend during July and August where both Saturday and Sunday had above average temperatures and no rain (August 15-16).
But even this couldn't dampen the opinions people had about the summer. In a very unscientific poll conducted on the UW weather station website the 267 votes broke down as follows: 41% thought it was great(112 Votes), 25% had it as good(67 Votes), for 8% it was just OK(23 Votes), 11% considered it bad(31 Votes), while 12% called it total washout(34 Votes). The "great" category was down from 51% last year, but with all the complaining I heard about this summer I'm still a little surprised that a plurality of people said the summer was either good or great.
Summary for Summer 2009:
Maximum Temperature 31.3 °C
Minimum Temperature 1.9 °C
Average Daily High Temperature 23.5 °C (Long term average 24.2 °C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 12.7 °C (Long term average 12.2 °C)
Total Precipitation 206.9 mm (Long term average 274.0 mm)
(Long term averages based on 1970-2000 data for the Waterloo Wellington Airport)
This summary would have been a lot different if we used meteorological summer (June, July, August) rather than astronomical summer (summer solstice to autumnal equinox). The weather in these first 3 weeks of September has been quite a contrast to the rest of the summer.
It was cold in July, average in August and warm in September, this all balanced out to an overall temperature just 0.1 degrees less than average. Obviously this is within the average range.
We were pretty much average for precipitation at the beginning of September, but only managed to barely stay in the average range by the end of the summer. We were saved by 11.0 mm on the very last full day of summer, following 20 days without any significant precipitation.
I think that people can be forgiven for thinking that the summer was wetter than it really was as there was only a single weekend during July and August where both Saturday and Sunday had above average temperatures and no rain (August 15-16).
But even this couldn't dampen the opinions people had about the summer. In a very unscientific poll conducted on the UW weather station website the 267 votes broke down as follows: 41% thought it was great(112 Votes), 25% had it as good(67 Votes), for 8% it was just OK(23 Votes), 11% considered it bad(31 Votes), while 12% called it total washout(34 Votes). The "great" category was down from 51% last year, but with all the complaining I heard about this summer I'm still a little surprised that a plurality of people said the summer was either good or great.
Summary for Summer 2009:
Maximum Temperature 31.3 °C
Minimum Temperature 1.9 °C
Average Daily High Temperature 23.5 °C (Long term average 24.2 °C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 12.7 °C (Long term average 12.2 °C)
Total Precipitation 206.9 mm (Long term average 274.0 mm)
(Long term averages based on 1970-2000 data for the Waterloo Wellington Airport)
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Saturday, September 19, 2009
Coldest day since May
When it got down to 2.2°C on the morning of September 19th it was the coldest temperature since May 18th when it was actually a little below zero.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Dry first half of September
The first half of September has been a dry one, the weather station has had about half a millimetre of precipitation (there have been some trace amounts recorded but nothing significant).
The last time we had a significant amount of rain was back on August 29th. Thus if we don't get any rain until Monday (as is forecast) we will be at 22 days.
There have been some stories in the Toronto media about this no rain streak, but I'm a bit surprised that their record is only 18 days.
The record for this area goes all the way back to 1924 when we had 34 days without precipitation between October 8th and November 10th. The streak we are now on will probably be the longest stretch since 1988 when the period between May 23rd and June 14th was dry (23 days).
The odds are good I'll be looking up the lowest total precipitation for September when I do the monthly summary.
The last time we had a significant amount of rain was back on August 29th. Thus if we don't get any rain until Monday (as is forecast) we will be at 22 days.
There have been some stories in the Toronto media about this no rain streak, but I'm a bit surprised that their record is only 18 days.
The record for this area goes all the way back to 1924 when we had 34 days without precipitation between October 8th and November 10th. The streak we are now on will probably be the longest stretch since 1988 when the period between May 23rd and June 14th was dry (23 days).
The odds are good I'll be looking up the lowest total precipitation for September when I do the monthly summary.
Monday, September 14, 2009
UW weather station on Doors Open Waterloo Region
If you have ever wanted to get a first hand look at the equipment we use to measure the information you see on the weather station website, this is your chance.
This Saturday (September 19th) the UW weather station will be part of Doors Open Waterloo Region. Doors Open is a celebration of community heritage where free access is given to properties that are either not usually open to the public or would normally charge an entrance fee.
The event runs from 10 am to 5 pm and once again all the sites are free.
For more information (list of other sites and maps to get there):
http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/doorsopen
This Saturday (September 19th) the UW weather station will be part of Doors Open Waterloo Region. Doors Open is a celebration of community heritage where free access is given to properties that are either not usually open to the public or would normally charge an entrance fee.
The event runs from 10 am to 5 pm and once again all the sites are free.
For more information (list of other sites and maps to get there):
http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/doorsopen
Friday, September 11, 2009
Locked in patterns
For the last two months the daily high temperatures have locked into either being above or below average and stayed there. Here is how is has broken down:
July 11th to Aug 8 - Below average
Aug 9 to Aug 21 - Above average
Aug 22 to Sep 1 Below average
Sep 1 to Sep 10 - Above average
The forecast looks like we will be a bit above average into next week.
July 11th to Aug 8 - Below average
Aug 9 to Aug 21 - Above average
Aug 22 to Sep 1 Below average
Sep 1 to Sep 10 - Above average
The forecast looks like we will be a bit above average into next week.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
August 2009 Summary
An average August for both temperature and precipitation
Cold. Hot. Cold. That pretty much sums up August as far as the temperature was concerned. Eight colder than average days, then thirteen warmer than average ones, followed by 10 more cold ones. And as often happens in this situation, the cold days were offset by the warm ones and we ended up with an average overall temperature for the month.
Going in the last weekend of the month it looked like we were going to end up below average, but nothing like over 25 mm on a single day to bring us back into the average range. But don’t forget about those 10 hot days in the middle of August when there were only a few millimetres of rain.
The total precipitation for the year so far at 649.1 mm is edging just a little closer to the average of 596.0 mm.
Summary for August 2009:
Maximum Temperature 29.9 °C
Minimum Temperature 6.5 °C
Average Daily High Temperature 24.3 °C (Long term average 24.7 °C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 14.0 °C (Long term average 12.6 °C)
Total Precipitation 81.1 mm (Long term average 87.0 mm)
(Long term averages based on 1971-2000 data for the Waterloo Wellington Airport)
Cold. Hot. Cold. That pretty much sums up August as far as the temperature was concerned. Eight colder than average days, then thirteen warmer than average ones, followed by 10 more cold ones. And as often happens in this situation, the cold days were offset by the warm ones and we ended up with an average overall temperature for the month.
Going in the last weekend of the month it looked like we were going to end up below average, but nothing like over 25 mm on a single day to bring us back into the average range. But don’t forget about those 10 hot days in the middle of August when there were only a few millimetres of rain.
The total precipitation for the year so far at 649.1 mm is edging just a little closer to the average of 596.0 mm.
Summary for August 2009:
Maximum Temperature 29.9 °C
Minimum Temperature 6.5 °C
Average Daily High Temperature 24.3 °C (Long term average 24.7 °C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 14.0 °C (Long term average 12.6 °C)
Total Precipitation 81.1 mm (Long term average 87.0 mm)
(Long term averages based on 1971-2000 data for the Waterloo Wellington Airport)
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