Environment Canada predicting warm fall in Saskatchewan

For many Canadians, fall is the grace period between football and hockey, swimming and skating, and T-shirts and sweaters.

To Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley, the arrival of fall marks the equinox.

“There are two different fall seasons that we look at here,” Shelley said Friday. “The astronomical fall is the one that’s starting early Saturday morning and that’s linked, of course, to the rotation of the Earth. And when the equinox occurs, where the sun is directly over the equator, we have equal daylight between day and night in that period.”

However, that’s not the day autumn officially begins for meteorologists.

“Generally speaking, when we look at seasons, we are looking at the meteorological seasons,” Shelley said. “So from our standpoint, our meteorological fall began on Sept. 1 and goes until the end of November. But astronomically, the fall is just starting (Saturday) and will last until the third week of December.”

When it comes to this year’s fall temperatures in Saskatchewan, Shelley said it may be a bit warmer than people might expect.

“When we look at the monthly and seasonal outlooks, we are looking at a probability of an above-normal fall in terms of temperatures and a below-normal or near-normal fall in terms of precipitation,” Shelley said.

“The trends we’ve seen the last couple of months of warm and dry look like they’re going to continue into the fall and winter months as well.”

Warm, dry weather in the fall will be good news for many farmers in the province, some of whom still have some work to do on their harvest.

According to the weekly crop report released Thursday, harvest in the province was 82 per cent complete as of Monday, well ahead of the five-year average of 64 per cent and the 10-year average of 62 per cent.

However, others may want to see some precipitation in the coming months. Producers in many areas of the province have been dealing with drought-like conditions throughout the summer, with some rural municipalities even declaring emergencies.

To kick off the fall season, Environment Canada is forecasting cloudy skies, a 30 per cent chance of showers and a high of 18 C for the Regina and Saskatoon areas on Saturday.

For some in Regina, the official end of summer is to arrive Sunday — the day spray pads in the Queen City will close for the season. Spray parks in Saskatoon closed Sept. 4.

This is your last chance to enjoy our Spray Pads before they close for the season! 💦 The Spray Pads are closing on September 24.

Get out there for one last splash! 😄 pic.twitter.com/p7M1yLlY8y

— City of Regina (@CityofRegina) September 22, 2023