Hot weekend ahead

Water levels are low in Montreal, but not as low as the Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Indiana. Now that is dry. (Twitter Photo @mikeseidel)

The very warm summer of 2012 rolls along with another 31C high in Montreal on Thursday. We will likely see that again today with elevated humidity levels as well. It has remained above 20C in metro Montreal since the wee hours of July 27, as noted by Environment Canada in a special weather statement. A heat advisory has been issued for the metro region into Saturday was humidex values approaching 40C. Most daytime highs have been above 30C. This trend will continue today and right into Sunday with highs of 31 to 33C and lows around 21C. A few scattered showers and a rumble of thunder are possible from late today into early Saturday morning. A more serious threat of thunderstorms exists for Sunday as low pressure and associated cold front slide across the Great Lakes and into Quebec. Some storms on Sunday may be severe with heavy rain and hail possible. Monday will start showery but clear out with cooler and drier weather on tap.

I posted an amazing photo above of just how intense the drought is across the middle section of the US. We remain dry here in Montreal with declining levels on area rivers and expanding watering bans. Here on L'Ile Perrot we have not been able to water for over a month. While some areas had a few showers this week, here at my home I have measured just a trace of rain since July 23.

Tropical Storm Ernesto
TD 5 was upgraded to tropical storm Ernesto on Thursday as the system passed north of Barbados. A general west northwest track is forecast over the next few days with a gradual increase in strength. Ernesto could become a hurricane by late Sunday as he takes a path towards the Yucatan. Currently the storm is 45km (30 miles) southeast of St Lucia with 45mph winds.