Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips expects Haligonians will be able to continue wearing shorts and sandals well into September

Following a winter that will be remembered for lack of snow, Halifax is experiencing its warmest July and August on record.

That's according to Environment Canada's senior climatologist.

"The number of what I'd call warm days in Halifax -- let's say a temperature when the afternoon gets above 25 -- usually in July and August you'd have maybe about 21 of those suckers, you've had 39 (this year)," David Phillips told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

We'll add to that total before we reach the end of the month on Friday. As of Monday afternoon, forecasters expect the high to exceed 25 C on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They've issued a heat warning for mainland Nova Scotia.

Phillips said high pressure areas have been pumping air from tropical sources this summer which is adding humidity to the record temperatures.

"Nights have been very warm, so a lot of tossing and turning, and maybe productivity isn't as high under this, but it's great for drinking beer on outdoor patios," he said.

Phillips expects Haligonians will be able to continue wearing shorts and sandals well into September and not just because Atlantic Canada is often known to have the best fall weather in the country.

"I look at the water temperatures that are bathing the province to the north, south, out in the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream, it's warmer than normal. Sometimes 2, 3, almost 3-and-a-half degrees warmer than normal," he explained. "So it's going to be difficult for the coolish weather to get a foothold."

However, he said warmer ocean temperatures could also mean additional rain from any tropical storms that come our way.

"We can't rule that out and that could bring you some precipitation for the fall, even if it's just a remnant of one of those."

Earlier this year, Phillips made the media rounds talking about an apparent snow drought in Halifax.

"There's never been a year in Halifax, going back 65 years, where we've started off the winter with such a low snowfall amount," he said in mid-January.

Haligonians are certainly used to shovelling snowfalls of over 50 cm, but according to Environment Canada data gathered at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, we had only three snowfalls that exceeded 20 cm this past winter. The largest on April 8 came in at 23.4 cm.