Thunderstorms could break muggy weather

Summer weather: Tanya Orova, Christina Marcos, Pablo Sepulveda and Roxolana Popovitch were loving the hot weather down on the beach by Parkside and Lakeshore on Monday. (VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR)

Tuesday’s summer weather looks like nothing more than a summer teaser.

In the GTA, the temperature may reach up to 32 C today, though it may feel more like a sweltering 41 C.

As a result, the city of Toronto has issued its first heat alert of the year, which will be in effect until further notice. Environment Canada has also issued a humidex advisory again for Tuesday, from Windsor, Sarnia and the Golden Horseshoe to Ottawa and Cornwall and north to Algonquin and Grey-Bruce.

If the mercury does hit 32 C, today’s heat will be record-breaking, said Geoff Coulson, meteorologist at Environment Canada. The previous record was set in 1944, with a high of 31.1 C.

But don’t get used to the sticky weather. Coulson said the rest of the week will feature more typical weather.

“We have a cold front that’s going to go through the area tonight, and in the wake of that cold front on Wednesday, we’re expecting temperatures to come back down to more seasonal values,” he said.

Wednesday’s high temperature will be around 24 C, Coulson said. As well, the cold front, which is coming from the American Midwest, may bring a thunderstorm to the GTA later today.

Part of the excitement about the hot weather may stem from this May’s miserable weather. A typical spring, Coulson said, would probably have at least a few muggy days.

“The fact that it has been so dreary for a lot of people – a lot of showers, a lot of clouds – this day has kind of stood out as a shining beacon of what summer may hold for us,” he said.

-- Aleysha Haniff, Staff Reporter