MONTREAL -- Get your air conditioners ready, because it’s going to get steamy in southern Quebec beginning this weekend.
A ridge, building over western Canada, will bring an extended period of heat to the Prairies starting Wednesday. In the afternoon, daytime highs are expected to climb into the low 30s in many communities and the heat is expected to stick around into the weekend.
That has prompted Environment and Climate Change Canada to issue heat warnings across much of the region.
And that heat is headed east: Starting Sunday, daytime highs in Montreal will climb into the low 30s and humidex values will be anywhere from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. Without air conditioning, it will also be uncomfortable for sleeping at night with overnight lows remaining above the 20-degree mark.
Montreal has had three days with highs above 30 degrees Celsius so far this year (all in May) but an official heat wave is declared when Montreal records three consecutive days with highs of 30 and above.
Last year, Montreal saw its first extended period of intense heat at the end of May. And on May 27, the city recorded a whopping daytime high of 36.6 degrees Celsius - the hottest spring temperature ever and second hottest temperature reading of all time in Montreal.
