Prince George, B.C.-  When it comes to the weather in the Prince George region,  the party is over.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Jim Steele says the predictions for the next three months, indicate temperatures will be about normal, but there will be more precipitation.

Speaking on the Meisner program on 93.1 CFISFM this morning, Steele says the summer of 2009 will be one for the Prince George record books as July was the second driest on record, and the eight day stretch of   30 plus degrees was a first time event “You can buy a t-shirt saying you survived the summer of ’09.”

Steele says this summer had a mix of contributing factors, as the offshore condition of “la nina”, which typically has warmer temps,   has changed to “el nino” the cooler  “brother” off shore system.

The forest fires of this summer haven’t had any impact on changing the weather says Steele. “The Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption (1991) had an impact on weather patterns because of the amount of ash that was sent into the atmosphere.”

He says there is a major weather pattern off the coast which will start   a major weather change   in Terrace first, “Big change in the whole pattern is now underway, so the summer that we had is now a memory.”

As for the winter? Well Steele isn’t prepared to go that far out on the limb but adds with a chuckle “I think it would be safe to say that in Prince George, you will have a white Christmas.”