Ottawa and the Valley in for hot, dry summer

One of the country's foremost experts in long-range weather forecasting says the next few days of hot weather in Ottawa and the Valley are likely a dress rehearsal for the summer of 2021.

At this point, Environment Canada's seasonal outlook points to a hot and humid summer with little precipitation.

“A lot of heat and humidity, and people out and about looking to cool off,” said David Phillips, senior climatologist, Environment Canada. “That's what I think the flavour of the summer ahead is going to be.”

Phillips says we've had far less precipitation than normal this spring, and that if temperatures had been any higher our grass would have been even more burned-out than it already is.

“The last three weeks of May, you got barely a thimbleful of rain that fell in the Ottawa area,” said Phillips. “[That's] well, well below normal.”

While Phillips said he expects this summer to be warmer than usual, he said it there will likely be fewer days above 30 degrees than last year.