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May was hottest ever recorded in La Ronge

Jun 4, 2018 | 12:00 PM

The month of May was the hottest ever recorded in La Ronge since temperatures were first documented 52 years ago.

“The May La Ronge just experienced was quite a lot warmer than average and… La Ronge had the warmest May on record,” Environment Canada Meteorologist John Paul Cragg said. “La Ronge had an average daily high of 19 Celsius, whereas in May the normal daily high is 15 C.”

The hottest day last month was May 23 when the temperature soared to 29.5 C, which also broke a heat record for that particular day. Cragg noted the above average temperatures were due to a dry period and southernly wind flows bringing hot air into much of Saskatchewan. Regina, like La Ronge, also experienced the hottest May ever recorded.

Commercial angler Gordon Stomp of Air Ronge noticed the unusual weather patterns in the region and he said the ice was off Lac La Ronge much earlier than expected. He stated the ice was melted by May 11 when in some years it’s not gone until the end of the month. Stomp is also about 10 days ahead in his fishing schedule, adding he’s finished until the fall on Egg Lake.

“We had big snows toward spring, then we had two inches of rain and things just progressed unbelievably fast,” he said. “Until we got that rain to melt the snow, I thought there would be ice on Lac La Ronge until the end of May for sure.”

Stomp also added the wind has been more extreme in recent weeks, which helped the warm air melt the ice. He’s hoping for calmer days in August and September because it’s much easier to fish when there are no or very little waves.

Above average temperatures will return in La Ronge by the end of the week, Cragg said, but the next couple of days are expected to bring cooler and rainy conditions. The average high for the beginning of June in La Ronge is 19 C.

 

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno