Airdrie and the Rocky View area have experienced a number of 30 degree days this week and throughout July.

Meterologist Dan Kulak explains how different this year has been compared to previous July's.

"Normally we would expect about five days per year with temperatures getting above the 30 degrees mark and so far we've actually had 6 or 7 days...6 days in the month of July and one in the month of June."

Kulak says most of the hot days in Airdrie have been at least 2.5 degrees warmer than normal, but believe it or not, it hasn't broken records.

"You can still have a lot of warm days without actually breaking records. The record right now for Calgary for daytime highs, for instance, for today is 35 degrees in 1984...even if you do get a 30 degree day for today, you're still 5 degrees short of the record of this general area. Warm days are not necessarily record days."

Despite the extremely hot temperatures lately, Airdrie did not receive a Heat Warning from Environment Canada while other districts in Southern Alberta, including Calgary did.

Kulak explains why that is.

"The criteria that they (AHS) have supplied to us for issuing these bulletins are 2 day time highs of at least 29 degrees with the overnight low between those two days of at east 14 degrees. That applies to the Calgary area."

Within the past week, overnight lows had hit anywhere from 6-12 degrees, and the rules are even tighter in other parts of Southern Alberta.

 

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