Geography of Saskatchewan - Climate

Climate

See also: Drought in Canada and Drought Research Initiative

Being in the centre of the North America, Saskatchewan is far removed from the moderating effects of any large body of water and therefore has a temperate continental climate, Köppen climate classification types BSk, Dfb and Dfc. Hot to warm summers and cold winters mean that the annual temperature range can be up to 65°C. On average, Saskatchewan has 211 days per year when the temperature drops below freezing. Plough winds, Supercell hail or high precipitation rain storms and tornadoes are eventful summer occurrences. Midale reached 45 °C (113 °F) on July 5, 1937, the highest recorded temperature in Canada,.

Compared to average values from all thirteen Canadian provinces and territories, Saskatchewan is the sunniest province or territory year round (2206 hours per year), has the second lowest annual snowfall (145 cm), the fourth lowest total precipitation (428 mm) and the second hottest summer (22.5 °C). The number of frost-free days ranges from 95 days in the north (Prince Albert, for example) to as high as 124 days in the south (Estevan).

Read more about this topic:  Geography Of Saskatchewan

Famous quotes containing the word climate:

    “Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull,
    On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale,
    Killing their fruit with frowns?”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    “Ghosts, we hope, may be always with us—that is, never too far out of the reach of fancy. On the whole, it would seem they adapt themselves well, perhaps better than we do, to changing world conditions—they enlarge their domain, shift their hold on our nerves, and, dispossessed of one habitat, set up house in another. The universal battiness of our century looks like providing them with a propitious climate ...”
    —Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)