The hot and humid weather is finally here and expected to stay for the coming week. Although it’s been a cool, wet spring and a chillier start to June, Environment Canada says the heat will remain and continue to climb. Sunday was one of the hottest days so far this season, with afternoon temperatures climbing to 30 C. “It’s coming, it’s here, and it’s going to be a long one. We’re going to see today, we’re forecasting a high of 30 degrees and about 4 or 5 degrees warmer (than usual),” said climatologist David Phillips. Ottawa families are already taking full advantage of the warm weather and keeping cool at beaches, pools and docks. Tatiana Martynova and her family were taking a swim at Mooney’s Bay to cool down. “They love the sand. They love just being in the water, feeling the sand on their toes, building castles. They love it,” said Martynova. She says she enjoys the summer weather. “Hot is good though. Summer is good,” said Martnova. “It’s warm. Some days are really hot, but I would take it before snow. In winter, we always complain is too cold. In summer, we complain it’s too hot. I prefer hot.” Rosie Radaelli and Sam Rye were spending the day at the NCC River House, their way of beating the heat. “I live in Montreal, so I wanted to come and go for a swim before heading back to the city,” said Radaelli. Phillips says Ottawa will likely see high temperatures with humidity, making it feel warmer than it would be. “The forecast for the next seven days are temperatures above 30 C and peaking in the middle of the week,” said Phillips. “By the middle of the week, we could be up to 34 C for July 1. It would make it one of the warmest July 1’s in about eight years.” Environment Canada recommends wearing a hat to stay protected from the sun, wearing light clothing, drinking lots of water and finding shaded and air-conditioned areas. “When I look beyond that, I don’t see any cooling off. I see temperatures might fall to 22, 27, 28, but still high humidity and warm temperatures. It’s not going to go away,” said Phillips.
