Montreal 94F - NYC 103F

A young girl has the right idea in Philadelphia yesterday. AP Photo

The heatwave is into day 4 with relief in our future, but not until Friday and specifically Saturday. Yesterday was just plain hot. What is most unusual about this heatwave is how warm it is staying at night. Montreal reached 33.6C (94F) yesterday, but had dropped only to 29C (85F) by midnight last night. Our overnight low was a sweltering 24C (76F) the normal low is 15C (59F) - we are currently back up to 26C (79F) as of 8am. Other portions of the east coast continued to suffer in intense heat yesterday. Boston reached 99F, while Central Park in New York was 103F and Baltimore was 105F. Newark, NJ reached 102F but they reached 100F before 11am. Montreal should easily surpass today's record high set in 1982 at 32C.

Power grids up and down the northeast coast and into Ontario are being stretched to their limits. Yesterday several regions reported power failures and more can be expected today. Such is not the case in power rich Quebec. According to Hydro Quebec, consumption on Monday was 22,000 megawatts compared to a normal July day of about 18,000. According to the power authority, while it is high, it is nothing compared to the winter when we can reach daily consumption of 37,000 megawatts. We are ok, and apparently like heat more than cold.

The City of Montreal will announce today that cooling centres will finally be opened. I will post that information once I receive it. I encourage you anywhere within this heatwave area to check on neighbors and friends and especially the elderly to make certain they are keeping cool.

Heat Advisories remain posted region wide today with high temperatures forecast from 32 to 36C or about 90-97F. Humidity is on the rise as well with dew points in the 22C range producing humidex values over 40C. Limit outdoor activities and seek shelter if you feel faint. Drink lots of water, this from our resident intern Dr. Obvious!

Relief should come be the weekend with showers and thunderstorms forecast and a much cooler high of 27C by Saturday.