THUNDER BAY — If you prefer normal July temperatures over unseasonably hot weather, at least the first part of the month should be to your liking.
Environment Canada predicts Thunder Bay will generally see average temperatures for this time of year right through at least next Monday.
Longer-range forecast models don't show a likelihood of above-normal temperatures until possibly the third week of July.
"We have a pretty active jet stream across Ontario, so there's no heat wave anywhere except maybe in southwest Ontario," Environment Canada meteorologist Peter Kimbell said Monday. "What that means for Thunder Bay is, again, active weather, which is going to probably result in normal weather for the next little while."
He said there are signs of another high pressure ridge building across Western Canada next week, which could push into the region at the end of next week.
"There's a hint that maybe by the third week of July, we might have some warmth and above-average temperatures in Northwest Ontario. Short of that, it's basically going to be more of 'normal.'"
Kimbell cautioned that the level of confidence in weather forecasts is highest in the first few days and up to a week, but diminishes beyond that.
Looking back to June, he described it as a "Goldilocks" month, meaning in Thunder Bay it was neither too hot nor too cold for the most part.
In fact, the mean temperature of 14.2 C and the average daily maximum of 20.8 C were both virtually identical to the long-term norm for the month.
Thunder Bay received 97.5 mm of precipitation in June, compared with the normal 85.7 mm.
