 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Warm weekend heralds hot, dry summer Campgrounds booked up as people head to lakes to cool off
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, June 20, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknifers can expect a hot, sunny and potentially record-breaking weekend, according to Environment Canada.
Donna Rogers and her daughter Ria, 3, cool down on the beach at Fred Henne Territorial Park on Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to push 30 C this weekend. - Daniel Campbell/NNSL photo
|
The record high for Yellowknife in June was set back in 1990 on June 23, when temperatures reached 30.3 C. The forecast high for the city is 29 C this Saturday.
The average high for Yellowknife in June is 19 C, but Environment Canada meteorologist John Craig said temperatures will soar above that this weekend.
"There's a decent flow of warm air coming up from the south," he explained. Craig said the air mass comes from the Pacific, where it will travel east over the mountains, dry out and be warmed by the sunny skies.
The warm weather, combined with the long weekend, has Yellowknifers and tourists flocking to the outdoors. Katelyn Gibbons, gatehouse attendant at Fred Henne Territorial Park, said they booked their last campsite Wednesday morning.
"We have absolutely no availability, even the overflow is filled up," Gibbons said.
Donna Rogers was at Fred Henne Park beach on Wednesday with her daughter Ria, taking the opportunity to cool off in the 20 C weather. She said her family is heading up to the Reid Lake campground this weekend to boat, fish and enjoy the heat.
The Pacific air may be welcomed by many this weekend, but Craig thinks it could be dangerous if it continues for the rest of the season.
"There's a good chance of above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation this season," Craig said. If the forecast amount of rain for the season comes all at once, rather than being spread out over time, the risk for forest fires will climb over the summer, he said.
Judy McLinton, a spokesperson for Environment and Natural Resources, said people need to be cautious this summer, as the conditions are ideal for forest fires.
"We expect it to be hot, dry and windy with a chance of lightning this weekend," she said. "So we don't need any extra help from people setting fires."
McLinton said they've already had to deal with accidental fires, on Tuesday a campfire near Wool Bay got out of control, but emergency services were able to put it out.
"We're in drought conditions," McLinton said. She expects the dryness to continue on through the summer.
Craig added longer-term forecasting is less accurate and doesn't necessarily predict what conditions will be like on a day-to-day basis.
| 
