Yellowknife (Aug 09/06) - For anyone who wasn't living under a rock in July, it was hot, hot, hot.

But for some Yellowknifers, the weather didn't seem scorching at all - at least not compared to a near record-setting June, anyway.

Seven-year-old Brandon Mack plays in the sand with Drake Delorme, also seven, at Long Lake. The pair were enjoying the heat. - Jessica Gray/NNSL photo Heat wave Month Avg High Normal June 20.9 28 13.5 July 20.9 28.4 16.8

"July seemed moderately warm," said resident Tim Robertson.

The average high last month was 20.9C, a one-degree increase over last year. The warmest day was July 22 which reached 28.4C. But June had more scorchers, with 18 days out of 30 over 20C. Eight of those days were also hotter than 25C.

The numbers are clear for meteorologist Dan Kulak. "It's been warm," he said.

Kulak said the heat is a national trend caused by warm air from the south."We had what we would call a strong upper ridge," said Kulak, which means warm air combined with high pressure.

This effect is a normal occurrence for Canadian summers, but he said this phenomenon's "strength is certainly towards the extreme."

Ice cream sales, an excellent marker of warm weather, were down from June for the downtown Reddi Mart.

"I ordered 20 cases of ice cream mix a week in June," said employee Nars Dapilos. "I ordered 48 cases in total in July."

More warm weather is on the way. Environment Canada is predicting August in Yellowknife, along with the rest of the country, will be warmer than seasonal. It's also predicting warmer weather in September and October.

When asked it she found the weather hot, Cherie Arrow said, "No, it was fairly nice."