This year’s July may end up being the fourth wettest in the city’s history, due to the amount of rain Calgary has gotten over the past few weeks.
Preliminary stats provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) showed that it had been the fifth wettest July in 142 years.
Yesterday’s weather was no exception, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Matt Loney, with an atmospheric depression having moved through southern Alberta on July 27, and brought what he said was a decent amount of rain with it.
“2025 is showing up somewhat frequently in the low max temperature historically,” he said.
“It’s been chilly.” Calgary recorded the coldest July 27 in more than 90 years, with a maximum temperature of 16.1 degrees Celsius, according to the environmental agency.
Loney said this tied the second-lowest max temperature on a July 27 Calgary’s history. The same temperature was measured in 1931.
Loney said Calgary recorded some of the coldest days in July historically this year. That included July 14, which was the third lowest recorded, and July 26, which tied the fourth.
This is quite different from the ECCC’s forecast earlier this year, which expected a warm and sunny summer.
While this past June was the 27th warmest June for Calgary, preliminary numbers for July ranked it as the 40th coldest in history.
Overall, though, Loney said, this year’s summer has been normal temperature-wise, and above normal precipitation-wise.
He said that this week’s forecasts show more of the same rainy weather for today and tomorrow, a mini warm spell for Wednesday and Thursday, and then back to showers and lower temperatures for the weekend behind yet another cold front.
The rain recorded in those days may push the total from 139.6 millimetres to over 140.7 millimetres, the total for the fourth wettest July recorded in 1897.
The number one record for a wettest July was set in 1927, with 245.4 millimetres of rain.
Loney said seasonal forecasts aren’t as reliable as weekly forecasts, and that’s why previous forecasts haven’t matched up with the weather reality.
“They don’t really give you a good picture of how that heat would be distributed,” said Loney.
“The character of the summer is only known after the summer is over.”
