TRURO – Sayonara spring, hello summer.
Colchester County was treated to an early start to summer with temperatures hitting the high-20s during the weekend. Summer officially starts today at 8:28 a.m.
Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips referred to the weekend weather as a "teaser" or "dress rehearsal" for the rest of the summer, which is forecasted to be "warmer than normal."
"You're going to get a real taste of summer in the next three weeks or so," he told the Truro Daily News.
It is a forecast supported by the Canadian Farmers' Almanac, which is also calling for hotter than normal temperatures for most regions of the country.
"Those who complained about last year's cool, soggy weather may enjoy the scorching heat we've predicted for the coming summer," it says on its website.
"Only the Pacific Northwest can expect to see near-normal temperatures this year. Elsewhere, be sure to stock up on sunscreen."
That is welcome news to most people around the region following a wet end to the spring that hampered sports teams from getting on fields to kids wanting to play outside.
But spring didn't start that way.
"In Atlantic Canada it was the second warmest spring on record and one of the driest," Phillips said. "But the situation changed almost with the calendar come June 1st. You've had a lot more rain in June than you had in all of March, April and May."
The numbers speak for themselves.
In those three months the region had about 100 mm of precipitation, compared to 163 mm for the first 17 days of June - about three times the normal amount for that 2½-week stretch.
"In that first week you had three or four just humongous wet days," Phillips said.
But the moisture was needed after a winter with little snow. The spring rains helped keep the forest fire index in check for most of the spring.
Much of the province yesterday was is in the moderate section of the Department of Natural Resources' fire weather index. Colchester County was predominantly in moderate while there was a small section in west Colchester that was low.
There was a section in the western end of Nova Scotia in the extreme category.
jmalloy@trurodaily.com
