Post-tropical storm Barry to deliver heat, humidity and thunderstorms to Montreal

Post-tropical storm Barry will slowly move into the Ohio Valley by late this week. While the storm will largely dissipate, its broader circulation will draw moisture and heat into southern Quebec. (AccuWeather)

Monday will be the most pleasant day of the upcoming week in southern Quebec, with sunshine, low humidity and perfect July temperatures in the middle 20s. On Tuesday, much warmer and increasingly humid air will begin to stream into the region, pushed north by the remains of once hurricane Barry. High temperatures will be near 30C (86F) through Wednesday, and into the low to middle 30s (90F) by Friday.

Humidex values will approach 40C (105F) by the end of the week. A heat warning may be needed for portions of Ontario and Quebec. The dangerous combination of high heat and humidity will make outdoor activities rather uncomfortable. In addition to the muggy weather, abundant moisture will create very unstable atmospheric conditions, with daily chances for showers and thunderstorms from Wednesday into Saturday. By early next weekend, some of the storms may even be severe. Cooler, drier air should return to the region by next Sunday.

A very poor parking choice for this resident of Dauphin Island, Alabama. The storm surge from Hurricane Barry inundated portions of the northern Gulf Coast with up to 6 feet of water. (Weather Nation)

Barry
Hurricane Barry was a rather unconventional storm, developing over the northern Gulf of Mexico, in close proximity to the coast. The storm never really looked good on satellite images, rather elongated, with no clear center of circulation. Nevertheless, the small storm briefly reached hurricane status of 74 mph (119km/h) just prior to landfall near Intracoastal City, Louisiana on Saturday. While wind and storm surge were a threat, torrential rain and flash flooding were expected to be the real danger with Barry. However as Barry moved inland, most of the heavier rainfall remained over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Still, 100 to 200mm of rain fell at many locations in Louisiana and Mississippi, with 250mm (10 inches) at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Late Monday morning, what was left of Barry was located in southern Missouri, expected to drift towards Pennsylvania by the middle of the week, before being absorbed by a frontal boundary. Heavy rain will persist over the Mississippi Valley before moving northeast into the Ohio Valley and New England by the end of the week. Heavy rain from Barry, in the form of showers and thunderstorms, will also impact southern Ontario and Quebec by late Friday or Saturday.