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| September skies can be spectacular as Summer begins to give way to Fall. This vivid rainbow developed late Tuesday afternoon after some isolated showers and thunderstorms moved across Ile Perrot and the West Island of Montreal. (Photo: Valley Weather) |
Well fall arrived September 1st, at least according to the meteorological community, astronomical autumn will catch up on the 22. September has started off warm, with well-above normal temperatures since Labour Day Monday. Clouds are on the increase as I write, with a strong cold front to our west. While Montreal is at 23C (73F) as of 10:30AM, Toronto, behind the fall-like front, is down to 12C (54F).
The front will produce some gusty southwest winds today, up to 50km/h, along with some thunderstorm activity later this afternoon. A period of steady rain Thursday evening, will taper off by morning, with a fair and warm day forecast Friday.
The cooler air will eventually arrive in Montreal, but it may take a day or so. Another slow moving cold front and upper level low will bring us showers and thunderstorms Saturday. On Saturday, the core of the colder air will arrive, along with showers and a high of only 17C (63F). Sunday into early next week will feature cool nights, with seasonable days along with fair weather through Wednesday.
Our hot and dry summer is now in the record books. In June, only 22mm of rain fell at Trudeau Airport. That was followed by 133.1mm in July, but most of that fell in a few hours on the 13th. August was the hottest month this summer, with 7 days over 30C (86F), including a 6 day heatwave, and the warmest temperature this summer for Montreal, 35.1C (95F). The heatwave included 3 record highs. Montreal managed 70mm of rain, but most of that fell during the last few days of the month. In fact, only 7 days has measurable rainfall at Trudeau Airport.
September heralds the change of seasons. The skies can be dynamic as one season yields to the next. Indications are we can expect temperatures and precipitation fairly close to normal. We will lose nearly 90 minutes of daylight in Montreal from the start to the end of the month. The trees are already showing signs of colour. The fall foliage may be greatly diminished this fall, as many trees are showing signs of heat stress, which can limit the colours.
