June has started off on a warmer note than May did, with average temperatures and the
prospect of some mid-summer temperatures as we head into Expo Ormstown in the
coming week.
The average temperature for the first week of June was 19.0 degrees Celsius, which is
pretty close to the normal for the entire month, 18.6 C. In lockstep with the rising
average temperature, the corn heat unit (CHU) count that started on May 16 has
reached an accumulation of 415 CHU, the result of which is the rows of corn are
jumping in height across the Valley, the winter wheat is growing in leaps and bounds,
and the haying season has begun in earnest.
A welcome amount of rain fell in the first week of June, after a drier-than-normal end of
May. There was a total of 19 millimetres of rain, which is about average, and was timely
for the emerging corn (not so much for haymakers!)
The forecast for the week of Expo Ormstown keeps bouncing about – first sunny and
warm, and then showers and thundershowers, and then back to cloudy and warm. All
we know for sure is that it will be warm, with daytime highs close to or above 30 C, and
it will likely rain at some point – we just don’t know exactly when and how much.