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Hot, Hot, Hot

Temperatures expected in mid-30s as most of province under Special Weather Statement

Jun 1, 2021 | 11:54 AM

As the calendar turns to June, Saskatchewan is heading into a bit of a heatwave with most of the province, including Prince Albert and the Northeast under a Special Weather Statement.

Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Terri Lang told northeastNOW this hot stretch is thanks to an upper ridge of high pressure that has pushed the jet stream north.

“When these things move in, they kind of tend to get kind of solid and like to stay put,” she said.

With this system moving in, temperatures as high as 34 C in Melfort and 33 C in Prince Albert are expected this week. However, Lang said don’t expect any records to be broken as those sit around 36 C to 39 C.

As the system moves out, Lang said to expect a bit of storm activity and severe weather. With a slow start to the severe weather season, it’s allowed farmers to get their crops in, but once those begin to grow, more storm activity is expected.

“A lot of the storms that we do see in the summer are actually fueled by the crops themselves,” Lang said. “So they start growing, they give off a tremendous amount of moisture, and that moisture is used to fuel more storms.”

Lang added that with a lengthy stretch of hot weather like this, nightime lows are expected to be much warmer than usual as well, which means the body won’t be able to reset as well.

“Be careful in the heat. Make sure you’re hydrated, that you’re not out in full sun at the highest points of the day,” she said. “Try and get those activities done in the morning or in the evening when it’s cooler.”

The heatwave is expected to roll into Friday with storm activity and precipitation expected over the weekend.

mat.barrett@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @matbarrett6

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