Another record high temperature for Montreal

A National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter drops water from a 660 gallon bucket onto the Flat Rock fire near Altona, New York. (National Guard photo via Twitter)

The sizzling summer of 2018 added another day to the record books on Monday, the fifth record high this month. The temperature reached 33.7C (93F) Monday afternoon at Montreal's Trudeau Airport, eclipsing the record of 32.3C set in 1982. Through July 16th, the average daytime high for the city has been a sweltering 30.8C (87F), well into record-setting territory. The normal average daytime high for the month of July in Montreal is 26.3C (79F). Of the 16 days so far this month, 9 have been above 30C.

Rain...finally
A cold front crossed the city Tuesday morning, producing widespread thunderstorm activity. The storms provided much needed rainfall, with 20mm falling on L'Ile Perrot. The rain was the first measurable precipitation this month, providing some slight relief to drought conditions that had been worsening by the day. Over the weekend several brush fires were reported across eastern Ontario. The forests have been very dry as well, with 19 fires burning in Quebec, most across the northwest portion of the province. Closer to home, 200 firefighters from New York, Vermont and southern Quebec, were battling the Flat Rock fire near Altona, New York in northern Clinton County. The fire had burned 528 acres as of Tuesday morning, and was 65 percent contained. The overnight rain provided some much needed assistance to the firefighters. Altona is 105km southwest of metro Montreal.

Behind the cold front, temperatures were still warm on Tuesday, but the humidity levels were dropping all day on brisk northwest winds. The weather will be more comfortable Tuesday night and Wednesday, with lows near 16C (61F) and a high on Wednesday of 25C (77F). Warmer, more humid weather returns Thursday into the upcoming weekend, with highs of 27C to 30C, along with the risk of showers and thunderstorms as we head into the weekend.