This spring, and into the first week of summer, has seen quite a bit of rainfall on Weyburn and the surrounding area. While data from the Environment Canada monitoring station at the Weyburn Airport has reported 30.7 millimetres for June, and 81.5 millimetres since April 1st, the provincial Ministry of Agriculture is reporting 134 millimetres in the Weyburn area. Temperatures have also been cooler, with the average daytime high being 21.8°, slightly below the 30-year average of 23.2° 

So, why is the rain, and cooler weather, seemingly more frequent this year compared to the past few years? 

“There is some correlation between when an El Nino breaks down that we tend to have wetter summers, springs into summer, but it isn’t the case for each and every time,” explained Terri Lang. She is a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.  

She noted the positioning of the jet stream is a key factor in the rainfall as well, with it coming right over much of Saskatchewan, bringing conditions that are conducive to the rain. Then, there is just the rain itself.  

“Moisture kind of begets more moisture once we kind of got that wet pattern in there,” Lang added. “The moisture coming out of the ground, the moisture coming out of the crops in the form of evapotranspiration does help fuel other storms as well, so that’s why we see a sort of drop off in storms into August – when all the crops are maturing, they’re not giving off as much moisture.” 

This year isn’t the wettest June Weyburn has seen, and certainly not the wettest in recent memory. In June of 2022, Weyburn saw 125.9 millimetres of rain, which was the most in the past ten years. There were also 124.9 millimetres in 2018, and 122.4 millimetres in 2014.  

As June draws to a close, we can expect to see a few more showers. The forecast from Environment Canada for the long weekend has showers, or a chance of showers, right through until the middle of next week. As for the possibility of further thunderstorms in the area, similar to what was seen this past Sunday, the chance for the weekend is slim.  

You can stay up to date with the latest forecast by visiting the Discover Weyburn Weather page.