The Yukon was significantly warmer than normal in June, July and August, says Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan.

He told the Star last Thursday that Old Crow, Dawson City, Mayo and Faro are looking at breaking the warmest record from June 1 to Aug. 31.

“That is pretty significant,” Castellan said.

He said Yukon weather stations ranged from 1.4 C to 2.9 warmer than seasonal, with Old Crow’s departure from normal topping the list with 2.9 degrees above seasonal.

Burwash and Whitehorse are looking at their second-warmest summer on record and Watson Lake is contemplating its third-warmest, he said.

“Those are some pretty big statistics,” Castellan said.

Weather records, for instance, show that on Aug. 27, Whitehorse hit 29.9 degrees – or more than two degrees higher than the previous high for Aug. 27, of 27.6 set in 1989.

On Aug. 27, Watson Lake hit 30.1 degrees, or 3.6 degrees above the previous high for that day of 26.5 degrees set in 1979.

Daily maximum temperature records for August were set in the Beaver Creek, Faro, Haines Junction, Old Crow, Watson Lake and Whitehorse areas, according to records.

Castellan noted that last Wednesday evening, Dawson City saw 36.7 millimetres of precipitation, and a temperature of 28.9.

This hourly statistic represents a 100-plus-year period – meaning there is less than one per cent chance of a recurrence.

Precipitation conditions were generally below normal for the territory for June, July and August, with Faro and Old Crow seeing the highest rank for driest summers on record, at fourth and third driest respectively.

Altogether, five Yukon communities experienced drier Augusts than normal, and two others didn’t register enough precipitation data to validate the likely drier trend.