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Temperature forecast on Apple’s weather app is too high, says meteorologist

Will it be a hot one across the NWT this week, or just warm? It depends on who, or what, you want to believe.
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Will it be a hot one across the NWT this week, or just warm? It depends on who, or what, you want to believe.

The iPhone weather app is predicting a high of 22 C in Yellowknife on Thursday. In Hay River, on that same day, it could be even better as the mercury is predicted to climb up to 28 C, according to the app.

Yellowknifer contacted Environment and Climate Change Canada to see if those numbers were accurate. Meteorologist Terri Lang said that the temperatures on the app and the temperatures being forecast are a bit different.

Lang stated that she was shocked by the reading, but mentioned that her husband uses an iPhone to check the weather also and when she heard the forecasted temperatures, she wondered what the source of this information was.

“I think 20 C for this time of year is really high,” she said. “Especially since there is still some snow around, and the lakes are still partially frozen. It’s likely to be a while longer before the warmer temperatures arrive.”

Yellowknifer also tried to contact Apple to ask for the source of the data on its weather app, but did not receive a reply as of press time.

But the company states that people may notice variations in what they see on the weather app depending on the version of iOS they are using.

“Temperature and precipitation map data is provided by Apple Weather,” cited from Apple’s website. “If you use iOS 15.2 or earlier, you might see some temperature and precipitation data that’s provided by The Weather Channel.”

“It all depends on which area you are in,” Lang added. “The further west you go, the better chance that you will get warmer temperatures. I didn’t see any sources forecasting 20 C as of yet for Yellowknife. We may see 18 C in Hay River.”

The average for this time of year is around 7 C.

The long range forecast for Western Canada is going to see above average temperatures. That’s due to the transition from the La Niña pattern, which sees a colder than average winter, and a warmer spring.

“Usually, getting the weather forecast past six days can be a struggle,” said Jesse Wagar, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, on Thursday. “With a low pressure system that will bringing the rain and cold temperatures, and the ridge of high pressure system that brings the heat, accuracy can be a struggle.”

Wagar hypothesized that the weather will likely hover below 20 C, but will still be warmer compared to the same time in past years. Though an official 20 C temperature is not expected to show up in a week or so, Wagar said that people can expect the warmer temperatures much sooner than what we are used to.