There is no doubt June was a lot warmer and drier than normal in New Brunswick, and now we have the numbers to prove it.
Jim Prime, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said most areas received about one-third of their normal rainfall.
“We didn’t have our regular pattern where we normally have some days of sun with a high-pressure system and then we get a cold front or a warm front that goes through or a trough which gives us some precipitation. We really just had the same pattern for a lot of June,” said Prime.
In fact, several New Brunswick communities recorded their driest June on record, including Bas-Caraquet, Bouctouche, Campbellton, Richibucto, Sackville and Tracadie-Sheila.
On the flip side, Saint John saw near-normal precipitation levels thanks to a thunderstorm which moved through the city, he said.
Prime said June was also quite a bit warmer than normal, with the exception of northwestern parts of the province.
“When you look at our averages, we were about 1.5 degrees above normal, but we did see some all-time records that fell with temperatures around 37, 36 [degrees],” he said.
The extended weather models show above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation continuing in the month of July. But Prime said not all communities will be as warm or dry as others.
“What usually happens in the summertime is we get showers and thunderstorms which are popping up throughout the province. It doesn’t necessarily mean that for everyone in New Brunswick we’re going to have higher temperatures or lower precipitation,” he said.
Precipitation amounts for June were below to well below normal over all of the Maritimes. June was one of the driest Junes on record with many areas being in the top 5 driest on record. #AtlCanClimate #nbstorm #nbwx pic.twitter.com/PPh1bR4DnV
— ECCC Weather New Brunswick (@ECCCWeatherNB) July 9, 2020
June 2020 temperatures were generally above normal for the Maritimes. The warm and cold days balanced out to be near normal in northwestern New Brunswick and the Eastern Nova Scotia otherwise the temperatures were 1 to 2° C above normal.#AtlCanClimate #nbstorm #nbwx pic.twitter.com/BG1pKR9F4F
— ECCC Weather New Brunswick (@ECCCWeatherNB) July 9, 2020