Henderson Lake in Lethbridge. The city saw a record high temperature on Wednesday, Aug. 21 2019 (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Hot Hot Heat

Lethbridge hits record high temperature Wednesday

Aug 22, 2019 | 10:41 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It was a hot Wednesday in Southern Alberta and historically so in Lethbridge.

A record high temperature was set in YQL on Wednesday, August 21. Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Sara Hoffman said the high reached 34.7 degrees Celsius.

That broke the former record of 33.3 degrees Celsius, set back in 1969.

“There was a ridge of hot air over the area and that helped to drive up temperatures, so we had some hotter temperatures coming from the United States,” Hoffman told LNN.

“We’re dealing now with a trough of cold air moving into the province.”

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This summer has seen a fluctuation in temperatures, with numbers ranging from the early 20s to 30s.

“I’d say it’s quite normal to see temperatures around 30 degrees – to have a few hot days, to have a few cool days and to have a lot of normal temperature days, so I’d say that’s pretty normal,” Hoffman said.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Environment Canada is calling for a chance of showers and thunderstorms today and a mix of sun and cloud Friday, with the high forecast at 27 degrees Celsius.

“Right now, we do have a pretty big area of thunderstorms over just east of Medicine Hat moving into southwestern Saskatchewan, so definitely ongoing thunderstorms today (Aug. 22),” Hoffman explained.

Sunshine is in the forecast for Saturday, with rain being called for on Sunday, August 25.

Hoffman said it’s tough to predict if Lethbridge will break or match Wednesday’s record, but the forecast for early next week is calling for temperatures around the early 20s.

However, she did have some safety tips for anyone outside enjoying the sunny days this summer.

“It will be important to be applying sunscreen when you’re out in the sun, to be paying attention to your hydration – drinking lots of cool water and staying away from things that will dehydrate you like coffee or sugary drinks,” she said.

Hoffman added that people should find shade when and where they can and take advantage of community cooling centres with air conditioning like a movie theatre, swimming pool or library.