The summer has begun to fade into fall in the region, as the temperature dips lower and the season begins to change. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Season changes

Autumn signals early start as weather begins to cool

Sep 8, 2020 | 3:39 PM

It may not be officially fall for another couple of weeks, but as is often the case, it looks this year like Mother Nature may be on her own schedule.

Residents across the region, awoke to a shudder over the last couple of days, as the carefree summertime breeze quickly turned to a brisk autumn husk.

Meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, Terri Lang, said the weather change is nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year, and explained the process behind what residents are experiencing of late.

“This is the time of year, as the nights are getting longer, that allows the cooler air up in the arctic to start to deepen,” she said. “With the jet stream on its way south for the winter we get these big fluctuations in temperature, which usually occur the most in the fall and in the spring, so this is sort of on-par.”

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However, Lang did say the timing of the weather transition this year did perhaps happen quicker than usual.

“It was a bit of an abrupt one, as we went from beach weather there on Saturday to covering up the tomatoes last night,” she said with a laugh. “But it certainly can be anticipated for this time of year.”

Over 20 communities across Saskatchewan either set or tied existing daily minimum temperature records early this morning.

That number includes several from the region, including Meadow Lake, Rosetown, Spiritwood and Scott, Sask.

Meadow Lake set a new record for the community, of -3.3 Celsius, surpassing the previous community low of -2.8 C set back in 1961.

Rosetown also saw a new record of -5.6 C eclipsing the town’s previous mark of -2.2 C from 1972; while Spiritwood’s -6.3 C passed their old record of -3.3 C from 1948. Scott’s new record of -3.4 C passed their old record of -3.3 C from 1961.

North Battleford did not set a new community record this morning, but did see the temperature dip down to – 4.9 C last night, not all that far off their record of – 6.1 C, and still cold for the season.

However, while the early numbers may suggest a cold autumn season ahead, Lang said the lengthy projection actually suggests the opposite. In fact, this year could see a warmer fall season than usual, on average.

“Our long range forecasts are showing us that the fall — the meteorological fall or climatological fall, which is September, October, November — is forecast to be above seasonal with respect to temperatures,” she said. “That doesn’t mean it won’t get cold, or that it won’t snow, and it doesn’t mean it will get hot, but if you average all the temperatures together it’s supposed to be warmer than average for the fall.”

Lang said temperature fluctuation is common for this time of year, making it all the more important to dress accordingly, and be prepared for the elements as we venture deeper into the season.

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1