The warm and sunny days have been few and far between for Sudburians so far in the summer of 2017.
June and July brought with them rainfall amounts that far exceeded their seasonal averages. The average rainfall for June and July in Sudbury is anywhere between 155 - 160 mm.
This year, over the span of those two months, Sudbury was soaked with 218 mm of rain, with 113 mm falling in June and 105 mm falling in July.
According to Weather Network meteorologist Erin Wenckstern, nailing down projections for amount of rainfall is one of the hardest things to do, though the above average precipitation that Sudbury has experienced was something that she saw coming.
"We thought it would be a pretty damp summer for you guys," said Wenckstern. "There's been an active storm track from the Great Lakes and it's just a matter of whether or not those systems move in and hit Sudbury."
With the damp days that were prevalent throughout June and July, so too came a slight dip in the temperature over the first two months of the summer season.
"It hasn't been the hottest summer for Sudbury, by quite a margin," said Wenckstern. "You guys only had one day where the temperature was above 30 degrees (Celsius) in June and July. It has however, been quite humid up there because of all the rain you've been having. So the temperature hasn't been high but the humidex has been higher than normal."
Sudbury has been hovering at about a degree or two below seasonal averages for June and July, where temperatures normally ranged from 22 - 25 degrees Celsius, Sudbury's temperatures were more in the 20 - 24 range for June and July.
With the amount of rainfall and cloud cover however, Wenckstern says that it has led to some warmer than normal temperatures at night in the Nickel City.
"Overnight lows depends a lot on cloud cover, where the clouds act as a sort of blanket," said Wenckster.
"Because there's been a lot of rain and cloudiness, the temperatures at night aren't dropping quite as low as they usually do because the clouds are acting as an insulator."
There may be some hope on the horizon though, as Wenckstern is projecting that August will be closer to seasonal average and the remainder of the summer should see some extended warm spells.
"The average high for Sudbury during August is around 23 degrees Celsius and we're projecting that for the most part it's going to be right around that," she said.
"You guys have had a cool and damp start to the month but we're forecasting some prolonged periods of warmer weather this month that you didn't really see too much in June and July."
Fear not, Sudburians, you're not alone in this cooler than average summer.
"As far as we know, there haven't been any record breaking temperatures anywhere in Ontario so far this summer," said Wenckstern. "So it's not just Sudbury that's feeling it."
