Welcome to Summer 2015

Spring 2015 is just about in the record books with the summer solstice occurring at 12:38 pm Eastern Time on Father's Day, Sunday, June 21st. The term solstice comes from the Greek word solstitium, sol (sun) and stitium (to stop). Indeed the sun appears to come to a complete stop at the Tropic of Cancer, the furthest north it will come on it's summer journey before retreating south. It also means the longest days for us here in Montreal. The sun will come up on Sunday at 5:07 am and set around 8:47 pm giving us 15 hours and 40 minutes of daylight. By comparison we only have 8 hours and 43 minutes on December 21st. From this point on the days will begin to shorten a little each day. The good news is that typically the warmer weather lags behind the solstice so July and August feature the warmest average temperatures for southern Quebec. The sun remains at a great angle and strong throughout the summer well into September.

Tropical storm Bill has been producing heavy rain and flooding from Texas into the middle Atlantic states this week and even New York City this weekend. The heaviest rain should remain south of Montreal. (AP Photo via TWC)

We are looking at a spectacular Saturday with high pressure in place and warm southwest winds. The high for the region will be around 26C (79F). The first day of summer is looking wet at this time here in Montreal. We have low pressure and a potent frontal system moving east from the Great Lakes, as well as the remains of tropical storm Bill moving north into the Ohio Valley. Moisture from the Great Lakes system will arrive this evening in eastern Ontario and overnight in Montreal. Showers with scattered thunderstorms can be expected Sunday into Monday. Temperatures will cool to around 15C (59F) overnight and rise to around 23C (73F) on Sunday in Montreal. Some of the rain may be heavy at times in Ontario and Quebec, especially if we tap into some of the Gulf moisture associated with Bill. Over 20-30mm of rain is possible in southern Quebec with more than 50mm likely in New England. Across the Ohio Valley and Middle Atlantic States numerous flood watches are in effect as 50 to as much as 100mm (2-4 inches) of rain is possible.