It's hard to believe we've entered our final month of summer.

Harvest is looming for many local farmers, and most of us are just hoping to drink in as much sunshine as we can before routines shift again in just a few short weeks. 

Meteorologist with Environment Canada Dan Kulak explains what the big picture looks like weather wise.

“In general the seasonal forecast for Alberta, it actually extends into the fall, for the periods of August, September, October is suggesting about a 60% chance for above normal temperatures across the western part of the province and 50-60% chance for the remainder of the province, so in general it’s looking likely at this point in time that we’re going to have a generally mild August, September, October period”.

He does however caution we’re not out of the woods just yet in terms of thunderstorm activity.

“We’re still in what we call the peak of the storm season; tornadoes are certainly a minority of occurrences with storms.  We get lots of reports of what might be tornado damage from people who have never experienced strong winds in their lives or in many years.  It does turn out that a lot of the reports we receive are more likely associated with straight-line winds”.

Edmonton marked the 30th anniversary this week of the devastating tornado that claimed 27 lives and injured more than 300, and Kulak says the weather phenomenon is more common in our province than you may think.

“On average we do get somewhere around 10 per year in Alberta, the numbers change depending on what years you look at, but somewhere around that 10 mark for Alberta and that’s the number of tornadoes that actually get reported to Environment Canada and we have the opportunity to look at some data for.  There is in all likelihood a lot of tornadoes happening in the province that we never hear about and they are probably far more common than most people believe”.

2 of the 4 most significant tornadoes in terms of loss of life ever documented in Canada happened here in Alberta, the Edmonton Tornado in July of 1987 and the Pine Lake tornado in July of 2000.

The Meteorologist says it's important to pay attention to those watches and warnings and to make a plan before storms hit. 

He also asks you to take lightening seriously.

“Lightening on average does kill more people in Canada than hail, rain, wind, tornadoes and hurricanes combined.  On average about 10 people per year do die in Canada from lightening related injuries.  You do not have to be struck by lightning to be effected; it can be in the immediate area around you”.

Kulak says rubber soles on your shoes and rubber tires don't offer any real protection against lightening, in terms of vehicles he says it's the metal frame around you that offers the protection. 

Your best defence is to find a sturdy shelter nearby if you're caught outdoors in a lightning storm.