SEASONAL SIZZLER
Need some relief from the heat in Windsor-Essex? Environment Canada’s weather watchers say it will be here Thursday — but you’ll have to endure more sweltering conditions until then.
Although we’re less than a week away from October, the region has been feeling a lot like July lately, thanks to record-breaking temperatures and unseasonal humidity.
“We’ve finally got a pattern set up in the atmosphere that we’d normally see in July or August — a large area of pressure anchoring itself to the south of the lower Great Lakes, acting like a giant heat pump,” said Environment Canada senior meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
On Monday, a heat warning remained in effect for Windsor-Essex, with thermometers climbing to 31 C and humidex values exceeding 40.
The situation is expected to continue Tuesday.
Wednesday’s high is forecast to reach 29 C, but with a 40 per cent chance of showers.
“There will be a fairly dramatic difference in the temperature and humidity levels on Thursday,” Coulson predicted.
According to Environment Canada, a cold front will be moving across southern Ontario by then, lowering temperature as it goes.
By Thursday, Windsor-Essex temperatures should be back to their normal range for this time of the year: 10 to 20 C.
The last time a Sept. 25 was this hot in Windsor-Essex was 10 years ago, in 2007, when the mercury reached 30.8 C.
The region’s coldest Sept. 25 on record was in 1942, when thermometers sank to 1.1 C — just above freezing.
Asked if we might draw some conclusions about climate change from our recent spate of eccentric weather, Coulson cautioned that “it’s difficult to relate a single event like this to a longer-term phenomenon.”
However, Coulson added that he’s been studying Windsor-Essex records and it’s hard to find a stretch of weather “this warm, for this long, this late in the season.”
“In previous Septembers, we’ve had a day here and a day there where we’ve gotten really warm temperatures. But not to see something like this — day after day after day. It’s certainly a rare event.”
At least one group is seriously concerned about a connection between unseasonable heat and climate change. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario sent out a statement on Monday calling for the provincial government to make air conditioning mandatory in elementary schools.
“Our changing climate is sending a strong message that the Ministry of Education needs to take action,” said federation president Sam Hammond in a release.
“Too much student learning will be lost the longer the ministry delays.”
According to the federation, soaring temperatures are subjecting students and teachers to “unbearable conditions” in Ontario classrooms.
That’s why the federation believes all elementary schools should have a heat stress plan, maximum indoor temperature limits, and air conditioning or “heat reduction systems.”
“While we recognize that air conditioning can be expensive, there are significant costs in not fixing the problem,” Hammond argued.
The fall officially arrived Friday at 4 p.m. Heat warning continues for Windsor-Essex, relief coming Thursday