The weather for the month of September in Saskatchewan could be summed up as warmer than normal and mostly dry with the exception of two areas.
Monthly weather stats from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) showed every weather station recorded above average temperatures – between 2.5 and 4.3 degrees above normal – following a cooler start to the month.
La Ronge recorded its warmest September on record with a temperature of 14.5 degrees compared to its historical average of 10.2 degrees. Regina recorded an average temperature of 15.9 degrees which is 3.5 degrees above the historical average for September and fourth warmest month on record. Yorkton recorded its sixth warmest month with an average temperature of 15 degrees. Swift Current had its third warmest month at 16.5 degrees.
The warm weather meant a lack of precipitation for most areas except for Regina and Estevan, where the Queen City had 53.9 millimetres – above the average of 31.6 mm – and the Energy City had 90.7 mm – over its historical average of 45.5 mm.
Environment Canada attributes the majority of Regina and Estevan’s rainfall totals to a single weather event, on the evening of September 12 with “slow-moving thunderstorms developed over southeastern Saskatchewan.”
By contrast, Swift Current had the driest month at just 0.2 mm of precipitation, well below its normal amount of 40.6 mm.
“It’s really just a trace of precipitation being reported in Swift Current,” said Brian Proctor, a Meteorologist with Environment Canada. “They probably got a few drops being reported as one of those brief showers sort of drifted overhead and almost all of the moisture evaporated before it reached the ground.”
Key Lake, La Ronge, and Prince Albert were other areas to record well below precipitation for last month. Meadow Lake was slightly above average with 37.2 mm for the month and Yorkton was close to average at 37.3 mm.