Hamilton is having its driest July 15 in more than 50 years

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Published July 15, 2022 at 2:11 pm

Officially, Friday is the driest July 15 in Hamilton since record-keeping began more than a half-century ago, although residents of the city experience heat differently.

As of 1 p.m., the temperature in Hamiton, which is recorded on the Mountain at the John C. Munro International Airport, was 27C, with a humidity of just 30 per cent. Weather historian Rolf Campbell says that breaks the previous mark for low humidity, which was set four decades ago.

Back on July 15, 1981, it was also a dry day with 32% humidity. Modern record-keeping began in 1970. Across the previous 30 years, the median humidity for this time of year, in this part of the country, localized entirely in Hamilton, is around 48.5%.

The high for Saturday (July 16) is 28C, and the humidity is projected to be just below or near that historical median. Sunday will be a little more humid before a storm system brings rain to the city. The Weather Network says there is a 96 per cent chance of rain on Monday.

Humidity in Hamilton varies across various areas, due to variances in density, greenspace, tree canopy and traffic containing fossil fuel-burning vehicles. This week, CBC News presented a data analysis tool that allows people to find out whether they live in a heat island by typing in the first three characters in their postal code.

In June, Hamilton had the first June on record where the temperature exceeded 20C on all 30 days. Per Campbell, though, the mean minimum temperature, or average overnight low, of 11.6C made it the coolest June in the city in 18 years. It was also calmest June in 12 years in terms of average wind velocity, which was 13.5 km/h.

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