Heatwave to persist into early next week

Hot weather predicted for the balance of the week, may challenge some southern Quebec temperature records. The heatwave is forecast to persist through the weekend. The forecast high in Montreal of 34C (94F) on Thursday would break the record of 33.9C set in 1994. (AccuWeather.com)

Strong high pressure anchored over southern Quebec, will provide the entire region with a prolonged stretch of very warm and increasingly humid weather. An upper level low is spinning off the Carolina coast, forcing the high pressure to remain nearly stationary over the region. This is a similar set up to earlier late May when Montreal reached 36.6C (98F).

At the moment, we are forecasting daytime highs in excess of 30C from Wednesday through at least Sunday. As the upper level low begins to lift northward along the eastern seaboard, the St. Lawrence Valley will begin to see increasing dewpoints and humidity. The weather will become oppressive by Friday into the upcoming weekend. There is a risk of isolated showers and thunderstorms both Saturday and Sunday, but they will be widely scattered at best.

Conditions remain very dry across many parts of southern Quebec. SOPFEU is fighting a large forest fire in the Saquenay region that remains out of control, having burned over 3400 hectares.

Conditions remain very dry across souther Quebec. According to SOPFEU, the Montreal region is under extreme fire conditions. After only receiving one third the normal rainfall in May, the city has recorded just 14.2mm in June to date. The normal for the month is 87mm. The dry, hot conditions have increased the fire danger across Quebec. Fire bans are being issued once again for several regions of the province, and outdoor burning of any kind is strongly discouraged. Several municipalities including mine here in Notre-Dame-de-L'Ile Perrot, are banning any outdoor water use until further notice. This includes watering the lawn, washing your car and filling pools.

No appreciable rain is in the forecast at this time until perhaps early next week. The rounds of thunderstorms that occurred last week, largely missed the metro Montreal region.