August was a warm month in our area and the higher-than-normal temperatures are stretching into September.

Environment Canada Meteorologist, Kyle Fougere says, " We had a very, very warm finish to the summer and it's extended into the fall." Typically in our area, we will see a daytime high of around 16 degrees Celcius with a nighttime low of two degrees but we are still enjoying daytime highs in the low 20s right now. 

At the beginning of September, some areas saw temperatures in the 30s with several places in Alberta breaking warm temperature high records. 

Cochrane did not see any records broken but but did bask in the higher than normal temperatures. 

The high-pressure system that brings warmth is also contributing to the smoky conditions.

Fougere says, " The same ridge of high pressure that gave us those clear skies and warm temperatures at the end of summer, unfortunately, did create conditions right for forest fires. So, there are over 100 fires currently going in southern BC, and that smoke moves from the west into the southern parts of our province which is what we are seeing."

If it weren't for the smoke, we would probably be enjoying even warmer temperatures. Fourgere explains, " When you have that thick layer of smoke aloft and you see those really red sunsets and sunrises, it's because you have all this smoke filtering our sun coming in and so it does, unfortunately, block some of the sun so we don't hit quite as high for temperatures. Sometimes it just takes off a degree or two for a thin layer of smoke but for heavy smoke, it can keep us from 10 degrees for our daytime highs."

Fougere says things will cool down a bit next week but it should also clear out some of the smoke with a wind shift. 

Long range, Fourgere says, "Our forecast for the fall though is to still have temperatures that are above normal for the September, October, November period and for precipitation, we are expecting it to be about normal for this time of year."