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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After an exceptionally dry June, Monday's downpour helped bump Yellowknife to within normal levels of precipitation for July, according to Environment Canada.

Close to 20 millimetres of rain fell from 7 a.m. through to 3 p.m. on Monday, bringing the monthly total up to 22 millimetres as of press time.

"More rain could have fallen (on Monday) that wasn't supported by these numbers," said Natalie Hasell, warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment Canada.

"If the rain wasn't captured by our station, it's hard to get an accurate measurement."

July was ushered in with rain right off the bat. Canada Day festivities were cancelled due to rain on Sunday, such as musical entertainment by Erebus & Terror at Somba K'e Civic Plaza in the afternoon.

The rain was a welcome sight for firefighting efforts in the North Slave region, where 56 forest fires are currently being monitored by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Low rainfall during May and June in the Inuvik, Sahtu and North Slave regions resulted in an early start to the fire season," stated Judy McLinton, the department's manager of public affairs and communications, in a e-mail to Yellowknifer.

Normally, July's average rainfall is between 30 and 40 millimetres.

The month of June was far from its normal rainfall levels of 40 millimetres. A minuscule four millimetres fell for the entire month - a low not seen since 2004.

Since 1990, 1993 was the lowest on record with just two millimetres of precipitation recorded in June.

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