OAKVILLE, ON – If this week is any indication, it’s going to be scorcher of a summer across the prairies.

The Weather Network has released its summer 2021 outlook for the country.

It shows above normal temperatures across southern Alberta for June, July, and August and that will extend through to pretty much all of the southern part of western Canada.

The Weather Network’s Chief Forecaster, Chris Scott says we can expect many more sunny days than usual this summer, but the downside of the expected heat is concerns about worsening drought conditions.

That also brings with it a heightened risk of grass and forest fires which could impact air quality. The threat of thunderstorms meanwhile, is expected to be less than in a typical prairie summer.

Most of Alberta remains under heat warnings for this first week of June with temps between 28°C and 35°C expected for the rest of this week.

As for the rest of Canada, conditions are forecast to be near normal this summer. The Weather Network forecast is very similar to the one released last week by online forecaster, AccuWeather.