More record heat for Montreal - but cooler weather on the way

A provincial water bomber battles a blaze burning out of control near Chapais, Quebec. Resources have been spread thin across the province, as more than 100 fires are burning at this time. The good news is cooler weather is on the way, with some rain expected as well. (SOPFEU)

Thursday was smoking hot in Montreal, about as hot as we get at any time during the year, The high at Trudeau Airport was 34.3C (94F) smashing the previous record of 29.3C (85F) set in 2011. The heat was even more impressive downtown at the McGill/McTavish location, where a 131 year old temperature record fell, with a high of 34.8C (95F), surpassing the 1892 record of  30.7C (87F). No matter how you look at it, or where you were in southern Quebec, it was hot!

The humidity remained low for the day, with very little moisture available as a frontal boundary slipped south across the Laurentians into Montreal by 5pm. That set the stage for a series of dry, windy Prairie-like thunderstorms around the supper hour. The storms generated lightning and strong wind gusts in the 70km/h range, but sparse rainfall. There was more dust being blown around in most locations than anything else. The front did produce a sudden drop in temperatures as the thunderstorms collapsed bringing cooler air from the upper atmosphere. Here on Ile Perrot, the temperature dropped from 35C (95F) to 27C (81F) in less than 10 minutes.

The humidity levels have risen overnight in Montreal, and we have a better chance of stronger storms Friday afternoon, along with some heavy rainfall, as a backdoor cold front arrives from the northeast. The storms may be briefly severe, with heavy rain and lightning the main threat. Before the storms, we have another record high expected today of 31C (88F). The record to beat was 30C set in 1970.

We need the rain desperately as the fire situation has grown exponentially over the last week. Over 100 active fires are burning across the Province of Quebec at the moment, eight considered out of control. According to SOPFEU, the hectares burned as exploded up to 15,152 in the last week. A burn ban remains in effect across the province, as well as into Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Be very vigilant with any source of fire or heat outdoors, it does not take much to ignite the dry vegetation at this time. One fire is threatening the central Quebec community of Chapais where some evacuations have been ordered.

The heat and smoke from the fires triggered a massive power outage in Quebec Thursday afternoon, with over 250,000 Hydro-Quebec customers in the dark and heat, including 88,000 in the Montreal region.

There is some good news as cooler weather in the way for the weekend. The high Saturday will be a more seasonable 22C (72F), along with gusty northeast winds up to 50km/h. We also have more rain and much cooler weather forecast for next week, which will certainly bring some much needed relief to the fire situation across eastern Canada.