St. John’s experiences hottest day in decades
Temperature of 31.2 C at airport falls just short of Environment Canada’s recorded all-time high
It was hard to stay cool in St. John’s on Monday, and records from Environment Canada show there likely hasn’t been a day like it in 30 years.
Meteorologist Ryan Rozinskis said Monday’s high at St. John’s International Airport of 31.2 C was the second-highest temperature on record for any day at the airport.
The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was 31.5 C from July 6, 1983. Rozinskis said it the was first time in 17 years that a temperature above 30 C was reported from the airport.
“It’s something we haven’t seen in a while,” said Rozinskis.
St. John’s did not record the highest temperature across the province Monday. That honour belonged to Badger in central Newfoundland, which experienced a high of 31.3 C.
Gander had a single-day all-time high Monday with a temperature of 30.2 C. The previous single-day record for July 15 in Gander was 29.4 C in 1964.
The hot weather was likely appreciated by those who were able to take advantage of Monday’s Orangemen’s Day holiday, which generally applies only to government employees.
Meanwhile, a power outage affecting some parts of St. John’s and Mount Pearl had an unfortunate casualty in Bowring Park. The pool and splash pad closed early Monday afternoon because of the outage. The pool was reopened at 4:30 p.m., but the splash pad remained closed for the day.
Alas, those who enjoyed Monday’s sweltering heat will not like what is in the forecast for the rest of the week. A cold front moving into the province Monday night will see temperatures dip into the low 20s and high teens Tuesday through Sunday, according to Environment Canada’s forecast.