Extended period of hot and dry weather for southern Quebec

Less than 1mm of rain has fallen in Montreal during the last three weeks. Lawns are turning yellow and leaves are falling as moisture starved vegetation reacts to the extremely dry conditions. Hot and dry weather is forecast through Tuesday for the St. Lawrence Valley. (ValleyWX Photo)

UPDATE: Saturday, August 9, 6:30PM: Heat Warning issued for metro Montreal.

This has certainly been a hot and dry summer, briefly interrupted by two flooding rain events. If you take a look at Montreal since the start of meteorological summer on June 1st, 155mm of rain has fallen. Not bad right? Break it down and it explains why lawns are turning yellow and leaves are falling from moisture starved trees. In June, only 22mm of rain fell. July was better, with 133.1mm, however, most of that fell on two days, including the flash flooding event of July 13. The lack of frequent precipitation has often been accompanied by searing heat.

August has had no precipitation to date at Trudeau Airport. In fact, only 0.6mm of rain has fallen in the last 20 days. That trend is forecast to continue, with only widely scattered, mostly elevation dependent showers through Tuesday. Here in the St. Lawrence Valley, we are expecting hot and dry weather, with temperatures and eventually humidity levels on the rise.

A grass fire, started by a combine, burns in Leeds and Grenville County in eastern Ontario this week. The dry weather extends from the Prairies into Atlantic Canada. In many parts of Ontario, water and outdoor burn bans are currently in effect as the fire danger remains elevated. (OPP East Photo)

Thursday will be sunny as high pressure builds across the region and extends to our southeast. As that high pressure moved to our east, temperatures will begin to rise. Highs will range from 29C (85F) Thursday, into the low and even some middle 30s by Monday. Overnight lows will be on the rise as well, from the middle teens Friday into the low to even middle 20s in urban areas by Sunday night.

The next chance for any rain or thunderstorms will not come before late Tuesday as a cold front moves southeast from Ontario.

The dry weather has prompted outdoor burn bans for a large part of southern and eastern Ontario. So far in Quebec, the only region with very high to extreme fire risk is the Gaspe region. That may change. Best advice is to avoid burning anything outdoors as most vegetation is significantly lacking in moisture. 

The dry weather extends across a broad region of Canada, with fires burning from Alberta to Newfoundland. So far Quebec remains fortunate, with only 5 active fires according to SOPFEU. This has allowed the province to send firefighters and equipment to Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland.

For now the air quality has improved in southern Quebec, but with the amount of fires currently burning across the country, it is only a matter of time before the smokey skies return.