November 2023 Summary

An average November for both temperature and precipitation

With just a few warm days in the middle of the month surrounded by days that were generally at or just below average, this resulted in an overall temperature that was 0.7 degrees below average.  However this just squeaks it into the average temperature range for the month.

Precipitation was pretty steady throughout the month, with no really wet single days and a 10 day dry period.  The final total of 56.2 mm was close to the average for November of 64.5 mm. The total snowfall of 6.0 cm was about half the average of 13 cm.

With this average month, the total precipitation for the year of 880.2 mm is still above the average of 832.9 mm.  

Look for a new innovation in reporting how severe and how “dreary” the month and season has been starting in the new year.

Summary for November 2023:

Maximum Temperature 15.4°C

Minimum Temperature -8.1°C

Average Daily High Temperature 7.0°C (Long term average 7.2°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature -2.0°C (Long term average -0.8°C)

Total Precipitation 56.2 mm (Long term average 64.5 mm)

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

October 2023 Summary

A warm October with average precipitation

There was a very hot streak the first week of October with 3 days close to 30°C, followed by about two weeks when it was close to average.  After that we saw another week of warmer than average temperatures a bit above 20°C and then the month ended with a few cold days.  The overall temperature was little over a degree and half above average, this makes it the fourth warmest October in the 25 year history of the Soulis Memorial Weather Station.

A little after midnight on the 23rd, the temperature went below zero for the first time since May 18th, which is about 10 days later than the average.  With the frost-free period from May 18 to Oct 23 it made the frost-free season last 158 days, which is very close to the average of 160 days.

Although the month started off dry, the rest of month had more typical precipitation, resulting in a final total of 78.0 mm very close to the average of 81.0 mm.  There has now been a total precipitation of 824.0 mm in first 10 months of the year, this is well above the 682.5 mm 

Summary for October 2023:

Maximum Temperature 29.2°C

Minimum Temperature -2.4°C

Average Daily High Temperature 15.4°C (Long term average 14.2°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature 6.8°C (Long term average 4.6°C)

Total Precipitation 78.0 mm (Long term average 81.0 mm)

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

September 2023 Summary

A hot September that was the driest in over 50 years

For the first time since April we had a warmer than average month, it was about a degree warmer than average, which made it the warmest September in 5 years.  There were 3 days above 30°C where we usually only see one of those every couple of years.  Finally, the 32.0°C that occurred on the fifth was likely the warmest temperature for the year.

It was also very dry, in fact the 18.0 mm of precipitation made it the 4th driest in the history of the region where records go back over 100 years.  The last time it was this dry was way back in 1969 when only 12.7 mm fell.  Over half the rain fell on the 12th when we got 12.4 mm, there were only a few millimeters on a few days apart from that.

This dry month means that the total precipitation for this time of year of 746.0 mm is still above, but now closer to the average of 683.5 mm than it was last month.

Summary for September 2023:

Maximum Temperature 32.0°C

Minimum Temperature 3.2°C

Average Daily High Temperature 22.9°C (Long term average 22.0°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature 11.5°C (Long term average 10.3°C)

Total Precipitation 18.0 mm (Long term average 75.6 mm)

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

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)