By Shane Clausing

heat wave grande prairie

Heat wave returning to Grande Prairie for August long weekend

Jul 28, 2021 | 12:59 PM

Over the course of the next five days, the Grande Prairie area, Peace Region and most of Alberta will be hit with another heat wave.

The heat wave is expected to last until August 1, which marks the last day of the August long weekend.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Janelle Gergely tells EverythingGP, the Grande Prairie area will experience much warmer than normal temperatures over the course of the next five days.

“We’re watching a ridge of high pressure build over Alberta. What that does is it brings descending air and as that air descends it warms. So, it’s bringing warm air across the province,” explained Gergely.

According to Gergely, there is the potential for records to be broken.

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“For Grande Prairie, we’re forecasting (a high of) 32 Celsius for July 31 and 31 Celsius for August 1, that is well above average for this time of year, as the average for this time of year is 23 Celsius.”

In Grande Prairie, the record high for July 31 is 31.7 Celsius, which was recorded back in 1965.

With this summer throughout the Peace Region and Grande Prairie consisting of little precipitation and mostly dry weather, Gergely added it’s unlikely we’ll see rainfall over the next week.

“Unfortunately, when we do look at the next seven days, we don’t see any significant systems. There could be some precipitation with thunderstorm activity, but that’s often localized and not that high of an amount.”

Gergely says the mercury will slowly return to more seasonal figures after the long weekend.

While this heat wave won’t be as severe or record-breaking as the one that hit western Canada in late June, residents are being reminded to be safe while in the heat.

Environment Canada suggests people should drink lots of water and schedule outdoor activities during the evening as a way to stay cool and beat the heat.