Precipitation-free days have been made even more precious during the COVID-19 pandemic with Londoners finally able to enjoy a patio after weeks of stay-at-home orders.
The city was spoiled with few showers and plenty of sunshine following the province’s move into Step 1 of Ontario’s reopening last week, but will the rest of June be so patio-friendly?
As for this weekend, Anthony Farnell, chief meteorologist for Global News, says “it’s definitely a different story.”
“I do think 80 per cent of the time will be just fine — in fact, there will be some sunshine on Saturday — but there’s also the risk for thunderstorms, and then Father’s Day looks like a sunny, hot and increasingly humid day as well,” Farnell said.
“Earlier this week, there were cool nights and it was just pleasant during the day, not a cloud. I don’t think we’re headed back to that just yet — you’ll have to wait until the middle of next week.”
Farnell expects to see this back-and-forth weather pattern to linger in the weeks ahead, rather than the long-duration heat that arrived early in June.
It’s still early and the long-term forecast is subject to change, but the meteorologist says a wetter-than-normal pattern also appears to be emerging for July and August, a pattern that’s likely welcomed by farmers who’ve dealt with dry conditions since the spring.
“That may come just in the form of those pop-up afternoon storms where you can maybe get off the patio for an hour and then come right back out,” Farnell said.
“We haven’t really had severe weather this season, for the most part, so that’s something I’m going to be looking for as we get close to the heart of the Ontario severe weather system, and that’s late June and July.”
As for the heat, above-normal temperatures are expected for the rest of June, with things potentially staying hot in July and August.
“If the trend is our friend, over the last few years, Septembers have turned out to be some of the nicest summer weather and I think that we’re going to see that again this year,” Farnell added.
In the meantime, the recent string of sunny days has been a treat for FitzRay’s, a downtown eatery at the corner of Dundas and Talbot streets, despite some repetitive conversations with customers happy to finally enjoy a patio.
“The general question is, ‘How are things going? How are you guys doing?’ You get it from every person, and you know what? We’re doing fine,” joked manager Mark McGonigle.
“Everybody’s being polite and being respectful to each other, and that’s all we can ask for in this day and age.”
On the COVID-19 front, things are going “exceptionally well” in London, according to Mayor Ed Holder during a media briefing from the Middlesex-London Health Unit on Thursday.
Medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie added that compliance with health protocols has been “pretty good” across the local patio industry.
“It’s mostly a situation where some minor reminders are more than enough if there are any issues whatsoever,” Mackie said.
“The restaurant community knows the stakes, they want to be open, so they’re doing their best to operate as safely as possible.”
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