Airdrie's May rainfall exceeds average: What will happen in June?

Precipitation in May was slightly above average for Airdrie and the surrounding areas, and the first days of June may see more rain.

According to meteorologist Alyssa Peterson, the average amount of precipitation for the area is 56.8 millimetres, in contrast with 61 millimetres that fell this month, granted some of that precipitation at the beginning of this month, came as snow. She noted that May may have indeed felt wetter than normal.

Parts of Southern Alberta did indeed get heavy precipitation. Peterson noted that areas like Lethbridge and Medicine Hat did see very heavy rainfall. However, looking to the coming days, the first day of June will offer quite a bit of cloud, with a high of 17 degrees. Sunday will also see some cloud cover and by Monday night it appears there is another chance of showers. Tuesday will also see a chance of showers. 

"It looks like there's another rainfall event for Alberta [next week] at this point where it is, is a little bit uncertain; but it looks like it's essentially Edmonton south, so it should affect the Calgary, Airdrie and Red Deer areas," she said. "As for next weekend, it looks like our first real push of heat is likely for the first full weekend in June; and I am talking about temperatures closer to that 25-degree mark."

Looking ahead into mid-June, Peterson noted that there may be above-average warmth.

"We can have two types of weather patterns that might set up; what we call a big upper ridge. So, think of the heat dome of 2021," Peterson said. "That is something that we might see in June, with temperatures between 25 to 30 degrees. The other system is what we call cold lows and those are big, low-pressure systems that form in Alberta. We could also see multiple days of rain."

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting for the prairies that the first week of June will see a few scattered showers and warm temperatures, while mid-June will see isolated showers in the eastern part of the region, with rainy periods west and cooler temperatures. June 19-27 appears to see scattered thunderstorms and mild weather, while the end of June will see plenty of sun in the eastern part of the prairies, and more showers in the western parts, with warm temperatures.

The almanac predicts a slightly above-average temperature of 0.5 degrees, with below-average precipitation in the east, and upwards of 40 millimetres below average in the east, while the western part of the prairies may see 10 millimetres above average precipitation. 

Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM

DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app. For breaking news, weather and contest alerts click here.