Cooler - less humid weather in Montreal this weekend

Thursday was another hot and sticky day in Montreal. Temperatures soared close to 30C early in the morning and then remained fairly steady as cloud cover developed. Cooler, less humid air will arrive behind a cold front on Saturday.
(Valley Weather Photo)

Heat warning in effect for southern Quebec

Friday will be the last day of our current heatwave. High temperatures since Monday have been between 30 and 32C (86 to 90F), with humidex values either side of 40C, in short it has been hot and humid. This was by far our warmest stretch of weather this summer. Fridays anticipated high of 32C will bring the total number of days over 30C in Montreal to 15. The record high for Friday is 33.3C set in 1947.

A cold front will arrive late this evening or overnight, along with scattered showers and thunderstorms. As was the case most days this week, the threat will be fairly low for severe weather, the storms will be hit and miss. There is still a chance some locations may receive heavy rain and gusty winds. On Saturday, high pressure will build into southern Quebec, along with clearing skies, much lower humidity and seasonal high temperatures around 25C (77F). The overnight period will be much more pleasant for sleeping, with lows near 15C (59F).

Slightly warmer, more humid weather will return for next week, with an increasing chance for precipitation.

Tropical Storm Fred

The tropics have been fairly quiet most of August so far, but there are signs that is about to change. Early Friday morning, tropical depression Fred was located 595 km southeast of Key West, Florida, with 55km/h winds. Fred is expected to strengthen today and reach tropical storm status. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for the Florida Keys and Florida Bay. The warnings will likely be extended along the west coast of Florida. Fred is following a path similar to that of Elsa earlier this summer, moving WNW at 16km/h, and forecast to make landfall in the Florida panhandle by late Sunday. Fred will be primarily a rain maker, with the threat for flooding, especially across northern Florida.