Weather Network forecasts mild, dry fall in store for most of Canada

TORONTO — One of Canada’s most high-profile forecasters is projecting comparatively mild temperatures and dry conditions for much of Canada this coming fall.

The Weather Network says temperatures are expected to be near or above seasonal norms from coast to coast, with only momentary flashes of prospective winter conditions.

Chief Meteorologist Chris Scott says the outlook is similar for precipitation.

Most regions are on course to receive rainfall in line with seasonal averages.

The one exception is the East Coast, which Scott says is likely to experience some fallout from an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season.

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The network says Canadians fresh from summer conditions that have deviated from the norm in many cases can now ease into a “quintessentially Canadian” autumn.

“We think that this fall will have its share of ups and downs, as is normal, but there will be a few more ups than downs,” Scott said in a telephone interview.

This especially holds true for those who prefer a dose of summer mixed in with transitional fall temperatures, Scott said, adding milder conditions are expected to prevail across most of the country.

This will be particularly pronounced in Western Canada, which Scott said is just cooling down from an unusually warm past few months.

He said fall temperatures are expected to exceed seasonal norms in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, western Manitoba, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Areas further east, including Ontario and Quebec, have already experienced previews of fall weather in recent weeks thanks to some unseasonable dips in temperature, but Scott said those regions, too, will see overall warmer weather, forecasting an unusual number of pleasant days in October especially.

Southwesterly air approaching the Atlantic provinces is expected to keep temperatures in check slightly above the normal range, Scott said, but added the area should brace for wetter conditions than the rest of the country.

“We’ve had such a busy Atlantic hurricane season,” he said. “There may be some remnants of storms, or at least moisture from those storms, that gets pulled up and gives us above-normal precipitation for the next few months.”

Central provinces will see close to average precipitation, with heavier individual rainfall balanced out by a higher proportion of rain-free, pleasant days, he said.

Such conditions will come as a relief to stretches of Ontario and Quebec, which shivered through unseasonably cool and wet summer months.

Scott said dry conditions that characterized the summer across the southern Prairies and southeast interior of British Columbia are expected to carry over into the autumn, with rainfall levels expected to be below seasonal averages.

The B.C. coast, however, can expect typical rainfall patterns, which Scott said may come as a relief to an area ravaged by wildfires in recent months.

Scott said winter conditions will likely settle in nationwide around mid-November, adding colder temperatures are expected to prevail across a large swath of the country for the latter part of the year.

— With files from Maija Kappler

Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press