It may be the first day of fall, but in some parts of Canada it feels more like the middle of summer.
Heat warnings were issued Friday across Ontario, stretching from Windsor to Timmins. In several cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, London, Waterloo and Hamilton, the humidex is forecast to approach 40 C on Saturday and Sunday.
Environment Canada issued warnings for 34 communities in Quebec and Ontario, citing “unseasonably warm” temperatures that could increase the likelihood of heat stroke or exhaustion.
Montreal was not listed in the warning, but temperatures in Quebec’s most populous city are forecast to reach the low- to mid- 30s over the weekend.
Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, spoke with CTV News Channel about the unusually warm weather and what Canadians can expect this autumn.
According to Anderson, the warm weather in eastern Canada is expected to continue until the middle of next week, at least.
“A big area of high pressure has been anchored across the Great Lakes,” he said.
Anderson explained that the high pressure system acts like a bubble that keep jet streams, which would normally bring about cooler temperatures, stuck in northern Canada.
Warmer-than-normal weather will likely continue throughout the season in eastern Canada, says Anderson.
“I don’t see really any sustained outbreaks of chilly weather,” he said. “We do believe temperatures will be averaging above normal across much of Ontario, Quebec and into the Maritimes.”
In Anderson’s fall 2017 forecast on AccuWeather.com, he says Alberta will have an “abnormally warm” season, especially in September and October.
Warm and dry conditions are also expected to continue in southern B.C. until the second half of fall, when temperatures should return to normal, according to Anderson.
Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba will also continue to have dry conditions with precipitation levels being below normal.
But contrary to the west and Prairies, Anderson told CTV News Channel that eastern Canada, specifically southern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, will experience a “wetter fall”.
“The Hurricane season is going to remain more active than usual through October, so there’s always opportunities again to see something coming up into Atlantic Canada,” he said.
Anderson doesn’t think Hurricane Maria will have a huge impact on the weather in Canada, though he said it might bring some rain and cooler temperatures to the east coast next week.
