Above-normal temperatures in Thunder Bay and areas near the city are expected to continue for another week at least, but the region hasn’t been exactly as dry as a bone of late, as some may have believed.
Though precipitation amounts for this month “are definitely below normal, it’s not going to break any records, not even close,” Environment Canada meteorologist Peter Kimbell said on Thursday.
As of Thursday, Thunder Bay has received just over 42 millimetres (mm) of rain since Oct. 1, about 20 mm less than what the city normally receives for all of October.
According to Environment Canada records, Thunder Bay’s driest October occurred in 1947, when a mere 5.5 mm fell on the city at a time when mitigating factors like global warming and a heating planet were hardly top of mind.
“So we’ve seen dry months before,” noted Kimbell, who is based in Ottawa. “A dry October in Thunder Bay is not unheard of.”
Average temperatures for Thunder Bay so far this month have hovered around 8 C, three degrees warmer than normal for the city at this time of year.
Kimbell said cold winds that often start blowing into the Thunder Bay region from the far north at this time of year haven’t materialized as yet.
Asked if it’s the El Nino-effect, Kimbell said: “El Nino usually doesn’t impact weather in eastern Canada, but maybe a super El Nino might.”
