Just like that, another summer has come and gone. As the warm temperatures slowly fade into chillier fall weather, it is easy to feel sad over the ending of the beautiful summer we had in 2018. Like most of Ontario, the GTA experienced a much different weather pattern than the previous summer. Summer 2018 was full of sun, hotter than average temperatures and normal amounts of precipitation. This differed from summer 2017, which was dominated by cool and cloudy weather with abundant amounts of precipitation. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between summers 2018 vs. 2017.
All of the data used for this blog post was obtained from Environment Canada (https://weather.gc.ca/)
The graph above compares the average monthly temperatures of 2017, 2018 and the historical averages. Looking at the overall temperatures from May-September, it confirms that 2018 was warmer than summer 2017 and warmer than historical average. May 2018 started off with a seasonally high average temperature of 16 degrees Celsius, compared to the monthly average temperature of 13 degrees Celsius. The early start to summer temperatures in 2018 lasted right into September, making the summer feel extra-long. In comparison, summer 2017 was cooler than average in May, saw normal temperatures in June and July and then experienced seasonally cooler temps in August. It wasn’t until September of 2017 that we saw some summer-like weather.
There were some major differences in precipitation when comparing summer 2018 to 2017. Summer 2017 saw abnormally high amounts of rain from May until August. Especially during May and June, where there was almost double the amount of average precipitation. Then towards the end of summer 2017 the amount of precipitation dropped below the monthly averages, and the GTA experienced a warm, dry September.
In comparison, summer 2018 saw lower than average amounts of precipitation in May and June, in combination with the hot temperatures, it made for a very warm and dry spring. Then in July and August the GTA experienced much more precipitation than 2017, and higher than the average amounts. Like 2017, in September 2018, the amount of precipitation dropped below average and we experienced warm temperatures.
In conclusion, during summer 2018 the GTA experienced higher than average temperatures and average rainfall compared to summer 2017 which was cooler than average and experienced higher than normal amounts of precipitation. It’s no wonder that we’re all a little sad to say farewell to summer 2018, it was a good one!
