These are supposed to be the dog days of summer. But for people living in central and eastern parts of the country, it seems summer has gone to the dogs.
In Winnipeg, August usually means daytime highs of around 30 degrees Celsius. But these days, the mercury is stuck at around 15 degrees Celsius. Weather watchers say it's expected to stay that way.
"What's been happening will continue. We've been seeing that for about four months now," said Environment Canada's Jay Anderson.
"We don't know why it's happening, we keep hoping it will end. The best guess now is we are heading into an early fall. Winter is still too far away."
Meteorologists say the current weather pattern over central Canada resembles winter -- a huge mass of cold air from the North, stuck over the Prairies. As the system moves east, there's more cold air to fill the void.
The weather system means people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec will be experiencing cooler temperatures for weeks.
For those who rely on good summer weather for profits, it's bad news.
"No one is coming out in this weather," said Darryl Leiman, who owns a chip truck in Winnipeg. "It's been a tough, tough summer."
Farmers have also been hit hard by the inconsistent weather. A freak snowstorm in May delayed seeding for farmers in Manitoba. Then cool temperatures in June and July shortened the growing season. Corn and bean farmers say they need at least three hot, dry weeks to save their harvest.
"We need 35 degrees for a long period of time to finish this crop off," Manitoba farmer Rob Park said.
Looking at computer models for the next few weeks, Anderson says the news is probably bad for farmers.
While meteorologists say they can only predict the weather a week in advance, many people in central Canada already suspect the rest of the summer season is a write-off.
