Montreal gets its first heat wave of 2023

Montreal will be hit with its first heatwave of 2023 starting Wednesday and ending Friday night.

On Wednesday, it will be sunny and temperatures will reach 31°C, feeling like 34°C with the humidex.

That heat continuing Thursday. It will be sunny, with a high of 33°C, feeling like 36°C with the humidex.

“It’s good to be back with the hot weather, you know, especially after the whole long winter season. I feel like definitely coming back outside and having that feel of Fresh Air definitely brings back the summer vibes in which I do think Montreal is great for,” said Paris Wani and Matthew Mansoori, Montrealers.

Demos Stavrinidis adding, “I do welcome this kind of weather after the long winter we have had, too. Yes. I welcome the beautiful weather. Yes, very much. I love it.”

For Friday, a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 30°C. There is also a 30 per cent chance of showers.

“Records right now stand anywhere from 29.7 degrees to 32 degrees and were forecasting very close to that,” said CityNews chief meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai. “Today and tomorrow is the building heat. By the end of the week we’re going to see this cold front come through.

“What we’re seeing now are a few days of heat, back to the 20s, that’s the general trend for the next month. And in terms of rainfall is does look fairly dry for the next few months.”

Special weather statement

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the heat in the Montreal area.

“Generally hot and sunny weather is expected and nights will be rather warm compared to the seasonal norms. Temperatures will be especially high in urban areas,” it states.

They remind the public to drink water abundantly, even before feeling thirsty.

“You’ll want to up your water intake during these heat spells and especially if you work and live in urban areas because urban heat islands are an actual thing,” added Ramsahai.

Young children, pregnant women, the elderly, persons with chronic underlying medical conditions and those working or exercising outdoors are at higher risk.

It is also important to never leave people or pets in a parked vehicle.

Montreal opening pools, splash pads

“We can officially call this a heatwave because of this stretch of 30 degree weather heading our way,” said Ramsahai. “Thirty-degree weather is not unusual for this time of year.

“We always talk about the daytime highs but we have to focus on the nighttime lows. When those are high, it adds to the problem.”

The City of Montreal has said splash pads are already open in most boroughs and they will be opening some pools to offer people relief. You can consult the city website to find one near you.

The city says it will also be providing water bottles to about 10 community organizations working with vulnerable individuals or those living on the streets.

The heat wave will brake in time for the weekend.

The sun will stay, but the temperature will dip back to seasonal norms. It will be 21°C on Saturday and 23°C on Sunday.

The average high for this time of year is 21.5°C.

Despite the heat, Montrealers are making sure they get out and enjoy it.

“It is really hot outside. We came in to grab ice cream,” said Victor Gasnikob and Kabyu Shah. “It feels really good we just came from parc omega, and it was really hot, so we were looking forward to it.”

Annesha Rahman, who was out having a picnic saying, “It’s been a while that we felt this type of heat. I’ll be out for the rest of the week.”

-With files from Felisha Adam, CityNews