A weekly look at the temperatures for the rest of the week and early next week reads like a list of ages of retiring hockey players: 32, 30, 36, 34, 35. And so on.
Because of the slightly higher humidity that comes with the summer, there's a light haze outside that begins in the mid morning and continues until clouds roll in. Most of the time they roll in, they roll right back out again.
People in Alida weren't as fortunate last week, as a plough wind or a tornado ripped a house apart as the storm was well warned.
Environment Canada is often on the leading edge of providing the appropriate levels of warning and watching in order to maintain safety. Anyone who intends to be outside is encouraged to watch the weather because as we well know it could change in a few hours.
We're very lucky these days to have a pretty accurate idea of when and where most storms hit. People are becoming extremely observant in a way they haven't ever before. Multiple storm chasing teams are online during the summer months, travelling through hotspots in Western Canada and the United States seeking footage, observatory skills and honestly, the chance to earn a bit of money with photography.
With this vigilance comes the awareness that these storms are deadly. It's undoubtedly a rush to watch these chasers from the comfort of our living room with a laptop, cellphone or tablet.
So are there more severe thunderstorms these days or are we just more aware of the things that cause them? Well, they are more frequent here than in any other place in the province, although most of the recent storms in the southeast have gone around us. According to Environment Canada data from 1999-2013, Estevan had 67,824 lightning strikes on an average of 23.1 days per year, destroying Regina's 32,708 over 22.1 days. The same data reveals that the month of July has been far and away the leader in lightning strikes throughout the province.
Monday began with a severe thunderstorm watch over most of the southern half of the province, including us. It should be obvious that this means not everyone will get a severe thunderstorm. No doubt a few people will complain about being unnecessarily startled.
But it was good to know there was severe weather in the area as people headed off to their outdoor activities that night. When ominous clouds showed up in the evening, anyone who had been paying attention to the weather knew to take them seriously. The severe thunderstorm watch turned into a tornado watch, which really meant the clouds obviously meant business.
Just from being outside that night and watching the clouds form, I felt a little bit better knowing professionals were also keeping an eye on the area's observational data, radar and satellite information.
However, consider for a moment the alternative. Last year, near Canada's stormiest city, Windsor, Ont., Environment Canada issued a warning late to the residents of nearby LaSalle. Twisters hit the city and its bedroom community 20 minutes before the actual warning. The tornadoes had dissipated by the time the warnings from Environment Canada hit.
While no one was seriously injured, it is a warning to check the skies and trust personal observation above all else. Quick-forming tornadoes can and do happen, especially in the kinds of conditions we're seeing so far this summer.
So let the watches and warnings with no immediate storms forthcoming happen. I'd rather be warned too much, or even told to watch for storms, than to not be aware at all and wake up to wonder where my house went.
