Where is summer?

[albertantraingeek]

Originally Posted by hjonathan35

Summar is a cold and both years.Usually June-September is the best time for day/night photography in Shanghai, but not this summer.

Why did you Bump this topic?

[Phil McAvity]

South of the equator.

[J-MAN]

Originally Posted by aastra

I remember it being cold in either the summer of 1997 or the summer of 1999... but a quick newspaper search suggests that it was cold in both years. Meanwhile, a Google search will turn up people who were complaining about the cold summer of... 2009! The summer of 2009 was scorching hot in Vancouver and all over southwestern BC!

Actually looking at Environment Canada data the summer of 1999 wasn't that far off normal. Vancouver Airport's normal high in June is 19C, the normal high in July is 22C and the normal high in August is 22C.

The highs in June of '99 at Vancouver airport was 18C, in July it was 21C and the temperature in August was a normal 22C.

If people knew anything about the normal temperatures of Vancouver then they wouldn't have been surprised about the what the summer of '99 was like as it was just a normal summer for Vancouver.

Source:Vancouver Climate Normals 1971-2000

Vancouver Climate Data For August of '99

[aastra]

Yeah, a lot of people seem to set themselves up for disappointment. They want summer to be really hot even though it rarely gets really hot, and then we have to endure all of that "Where's summer??" stuff when it doesn't pan out.

They're probably the same people who flip when it snows. We never get snow! This is the most snow ever!

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by J-MAN

Actually looking at Environment Canada data the summer of 1999 wasn't that far off normal. Vancouver Airport's normal high in June is 19C, the normal high in July is 22C and the normal high in August is 22C.

The highs in June of '99 at Vancouver airport was 18C, in July it was 21C and the temperature in August was a normal 22C.

If people knew anything about the normal temperatures of Vancouver then they wouldn't have been surprised about the what the summer of '99 was like as it was just a normal summer for Vancouver.

Source:Vancouver Climate Normals 1971-2000

Vancouver Climate Data For August of '99

In defense I will say that the west coast experiences much smaller variations in temperature from year to year, due to being heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean.

So what this means, is that to the average Vancouverite two months in a row in the summer where the average temperature is 1 to 2 degrees below normal will feel like a cool summer, while on the other hand, of the 1999 temperatures were a high of 20 for June, 23 for July and 22 for August (creating the exact flip situation) many people here would remember it as a warm or "hot" summer.

The further one goes inland, the more extreme the year to year variatins become from year to year.

YVR Airport: Cool summer = 1 to 2 degrees below normal, Hot summer = 1 to 2 degrees above normal

Abbotsford: Cool summer = 2 to 3 degrees below normal, Hot summer = 2 to 3 degrees above normal

Kamloops: Cool Summer = 3 to 4 degrees below normal, Hot summer = 3 to 4 degrees above normal.

Of course this is just a simple generalization, everyone has their own personal experience.

And we have to remember that temperature is just one variable, if i remember correctly, while the temperature was near normal (a little cool) during the summer of 99, there was also much higher than normal cloud cover and foggy days. In fact this last July was the perfect example, while the temp was only a little below normal, the persistent cloud cover and rain made it feel that much cooler (when considering July is usually a very dry and sunny period in Vancouver).

[Spoolmak]

Originally Posted by aastra

Yeah, a lot of people seem to set themselves up for disappointment. They want summer to be really hot even though it rarely gets really hot, and then we have to endure all of that "Where's summer??" stuff when it doesn't pan out.

They're probably the same people who flip when it snows. We never get snow! This is the most snow ever!

This just goes for the coast then, because the hottest day in kamloops in 2011 was 34.8 degrees. Normally, we see 38-40, every year.

[aastra]

Correct, I'm talking about Vancouver.

[Metro-One]

Which perfectly demonstrates my point that a cool patter becomes more obvious when you travel inland. A degree below normal is a "cool" summer in Vancouver, while a degree above normal is a "hot" summer in Vancouver. Again, this cool / hot trend is magnified as one travel further away from the water (Remember YVR is surrounded by water)

[Calgarian]

I doubt most people can perceive a temperature difference of 1 degree from the year before.

[J-MAN]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Hot summer = 1 to 2 degrees above normal

You could be right Metro-One... June of '09 at Vancouver Int'l was 2.5C above normal; July was 2.4C above normal; and August was 0.2C above normal.

Originally Posted by aastra

The summer of 2009 was scorching hot in Vancouver and all over southwestern BC!

July had three days in a row of +30C temperatures with the highest temp being +34.4C (94F) at Vancouver Int'l in 2009.

A little further inland at Fort Langley it got all the way to 37C (99F) in July of 2009!

(Sources: http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc....Month=7&Day=01 http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc....Month=7&Day=24)

[Metro-One]

Yep, on the coast you don't get as many extremes so you tend to notice smaller differences. And remember, a degree below normal doesn't mean every day is exactly 1 degree below normal, but what it does mean is that there may be 2 or 3 less "hot" periods during the summer and that is noticed, the same way there will be 2 or 3 more "hot" periods when the average temp is a degree or two above normal, again, which is noticed.

Summer of 2009 was great, during that hot stretch metro-Vancouver had 2 nights in a row with the low temps staying above 20 (some stations had lows as warm as 23) which was amazing. Hoping we see more of such weather in the future...

[aastra]

It was too hot for me. I was putting a wet towel in the freezer and then laying it down to sleep on it, with a large oscillating fan right beside me and the windows wide open (of course)... and I was still sweating. Do that in a typical summer and you'd probably freeze to death before you woke.

I know people who were out of the country at that time and they still don't believe me when I tell them how hot it was.

[Spoolmak]

I'm really hoping 2012 is that hot. I haven't felt intense heat since 2010. I'm going through withdrawals

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by aastra

It was too hot for me. I was putting a wet towel in the freezer and then laying it down to sleep on it, with a large oscillating fan right beside me and the windows wide open (of course)... and I was still sweating. Do that in a typical summer and you'd probably freeze to death before you woke.

I know people who were out of the country at that time and they still don't believe me when I tell them how hot it was.

The summer of '09 was a sizzler and I agree, it was too hot. It seemed to be dry and very warm for weeks on end. I remember one day in particular in Victoria when it was well into the 90's (it almost never gets that hot here). My girlfriend and I agreed we had to go jump in a lake after work. It cooled down at night like it always does here, but it was still so warm it was tough to sleep. The problem is that because we so rarely get heat like that, that when we do, we are totally unprepared for it because very few places here have air conditioning.