SYDNEY, N.S. — t’s beginning to look like Mother Nature is trying to make up for Cape Breton's harsh winter.
“Thursday, Friday and even Saturday are going to be absolutely incredible … 25, 26 degrees … southwest wind,” said Cindy Day, SaltWire Network’s resident chief meteorologist. “Just lots of sun Thursday, sun and cloud Friday and Saturday …. absolutely beautiful. For those who are not concerned about how dry it is, a perfect three-day stretch.”
Day said Thursday's winds will be from the southeast, which is best for Cape Breton, adding the temperatures are all about wind direction.
“When the wind sets up on the southeast across Cape Breton, it’s travelling across enough land to have time to warm up.”
Spring in Cape Breton is always an unusual time of year especially due to the ocean temperatures, Day said. It’s not so much about the weather system, it’s about the wind that rotates around it.
For example, on Saturday afternoon it was 10 C in Sydney while it was 28 C in Halifax.
“It was the same weather system except that the wind in Sydney was from the northeast and that just pulls some cold air in off the water,” she said. “The wind in Halifax was from the northeast, which means it’s travelling over land and that May sun can warm it up.”
Most often temperatures seem higher in Halifax than Sydney, but that was actually reversed recently, and again, it was all about wind direction, she said. May 21-22 temperatures hit 24 C in Sydney while Halifax hovered at 15 C. On May 25 it was 17 C in Halifax and 21 C in Sydney.
Nova Scotia has experienced a mixed bag of weather so far in May.
Day said it’s not uncommon to see snow well into the end of the month. A warm spell had everyone mentally ready to move on, then frosty nights and wet flurries drifted through, setting everyone back.
“We forget from year-to-year that first little tease of warm weather isn’t necessarily a trend, it’s just a little tease, it takes a while for the warmer weather to come around.”
Day has some hope for those Cape Bretoners disgruntled with the fluctuating weather and the bouts of cold — the outlook for summer is promising. The temperatures through June, July and August are expected to be near or above normal, and precipitation below normal.
“It’s not good for forest fires, but it you’re a beach-goer or someone who just likes to get outside, the long-range forecast looks quite favourable for the summer months of June, July and August.”
Day also issued the reminder that hurricane season starts Monday, adding expectations are for a very active season.
“That in no way means we’re going to see them race up towards Canadian waters or even enter Canadian waters,” she said. “In terms of development off the equator, off the coast of Peru — and where these hurricanes develop — it looks like there’s going to be a higher than usual number of named storms this hurricane season.”
“The warmer the water, the greater the chance the systems come up our way. Right now there’s no talk of that.”
However, Day said it’s always good to start preparing.
“With flashlights, the little kits …. just in case the winds pick up when the storms roll in.”
ENJOYING THE WEATHER
Cape Bretoners were enjoying the warmer temperatures Tuesday.
Lisa Higgins of Glace Bay and her friend Jody Robertson of Donkin were social distancing near Dominion Beach.
Higgins, a hairdresser with Lisa’s Styling Zone at the YMCA Enterprise Centre in Glace Bay, said she loves this recent weather.
“It’s what brings a smile to my face right now,” she said, adding especially in these difficult times where she's not able to work.
Robertson, who works for H&R Block, was off for five weeks due to the COVID-19 crisis and is now back on the job part-time.
“I was just stuck inside the house all the time,” she said, adding she is enjoying the scenery near Dominion Beach. “Now I’m here every day.”
THE RECORDS
Ian Hubbard, meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said there haven’t been any temperature records this month in Cape Breton but the possibility is there in the next few days.
“Obviously sometimes when we have these temperature records or really hot days sometimes they get close but don’t break it,” he said. “They might even just be a fraction of a degree too low and sometimes even just a bit of extra cloud cover that day might affect a high temperature being reached exactly.”
The record temperatures for specific days in May dating back to 1870 in Sydney include for May 26 a high of 26.8 C in 2007; May 27, a record 30.1 C set in 2015; a May 28 record of 28.1 C set in 2015, and a May 29 record of 30.6 C set in 1972.
