'Canada dry': Climatologist Dave Phillips foresees hot, dry summer countrywide

The dry, hot and lack of precipitation is just the beginning of what the summer could look like in Canada, one expert says.

Dave Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, says the lack of rain this spring has created dry conditions that are causing issues for farmers and sparking wildfires.

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"Really, the story is ‘Canada dry’ from coast to coast," Phillips told CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.

The lack of precipitation will continue into the summer, says Phillips, predicting the current high temperatures and dryness are just a "dress rehearsal," and the wildfires are part of the "pre-run."

In his view, Phillips doesn’t see any change coming soon.

"Typically the weather gets into a blocking situation where it just doesn't move, it just stays put, it's getting stale day after day," he said.

According to Phillips, the only areas that have seen consistent wet weather are Yukon, northern B.C. and parts of the Northwest Territories. But across the southern parts of Canada, it has been "bone dry."

"Some places in southern Alberta, southern Manitoba, you haven't seen this (lack of rain) in over a century: a consistently dry February, March, April, May and into June," Phillips said.

Although there has been flooding in some communities, including the Ottawa-Gatineau area and in Gaspé Peninsula, Que., the precipitation came so fast that the earth did not have time to absorb it, Phillips said.

"What you want is a balance of life, you want a balance in weather, and we need moisture right now to balance things off," he said. "Now we're going to a moisture deficit."

 

To watch the full interview click the video at the top of this article.