Much needed rain followed by more heat and humidity

Large crowds turned out for the annual car show held Sunday at Point-du-Moulin Historical Park on Île Perrot. The weather was perfect along the Lac-St-Louis shoreline, with a nice breeze providing relief from the 30C heat and humidity. (ValleyWeather Photo)

Some much needed rain is moving along the 401 Monday morning and should arrive in Montreal by mid-afternoon. A warm front will lift across the region today, accompanied by some tropical rains. parts of southern Ontario received as much as 70mm overnight, so the system has a history of moderate precipitation. As of 10am this morning, heavy rainfall warnings have been issued for the St Lawrence Valley of Ontario from Kingston to the Quebec border. Expect 25-50mm of rain for those locations and perhaps up to 25mm in Montreal.

The warm front will lift north of Montreal overnight, with more showers and perhaps a thunderstorm possible. The showers will taper off early Tuesday leaving us well established in the warm sector. Expect a very warm, breezy day, with high humidity values. The high will be 28C (83F) Tuesday and up to 31C (88F) Wednesday. Humidex values will rise into the upper 30s, the weather will definitely feel oppressive at times.

More showers and thunderstorms are forecast Wednesday night into Thursday, before skies clear out and humidity levels drop somewhat.

We do need the rain in Montreal, as July has been rather dry to date. Only 18.4mm of rain has fallen through the first half of the month, most of that in a few hours on July 12.

The weekend weather in Montreal was absolutely spectacular, with sunshine and warm temperatures. We surpassed 30C (30.6C) on Sunday at Trudeau Airport, the first such reading this July. Other locations around southern Quebec were even warmer, with 31.3 (89F) at Saint-Anicet and 32.2C (90F) on Ile Perrot.

Speaking of heat, the central portion of the US has been baking this July, and that heat moved into southern Saskatchewan on Sunday. Val-Marie reached 39.2C (102.5F). The heat is moving east into Manitoba and northwest Ontario Monday.

European Heatwave

North America is nor the only place recording searing heat, an unprecedented heatwave is impacting portions of western Europe. Spain, Portugal, France and England have all been experiencing record-breaking heat. Lousa in central Portugal hit 46.3C (115F) last Wednesday. The heat has lasted nearly a week, with the death toll rising over to over one thousand across Europe. Numerous forest fires are burning as well in the hot, dry weather. Italy has declared a state of emergency across most of the northern region. Water use is being limited to food preparation, domestic use and healthcare. Parts of the U.K. are expecting their warmest days in history on Monday and Tuesday.