Despite the scorching hot temperatures last week, no records were broken in Sarnia-Lambton.
The extended heat warning, initially issued on June 28, finally came to an end on Saturday, July 4.
"I think it's a testament to just how warm it can get in southwestern Ontario, and the Sarnia area, to say that while we did get well above normal with the heat wave last week, no single day records were broken," said Environment Canada Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
For example, the high on June 30 was 34.3 C in Sarnia, but the record stood at 35 C from 1964.
"On Canada Day, July 1, we got up to an incredible 34.9 degrees but still not near the record of 36.1 set back in 1963," Coulson continued. "Similar story, the hottest day of the heat wave on Thursday, July 2, 35.1 degrees, but the current record stands at 35.6 set back in 1966."
Coulson said the region could see another two-day heat event by mid-week and possible thunderstorms at the end of this week.
"Right now, it's just on the edge of the criteria, but Wednesday and Thursday again getting to highs of around 30 degrees, overnight lows not dipping down much below about 20 or 21 degrees," he said. "Also, a front starting to slump down over the area on Thursday into Friday."
He said it's difficult to say if we'll see similar extremes with the heat and humidity this summer. But historically, the hottest times of the summer season are in late July and early August.
"The fact that we already got a significant heat wave at the end of June and in the first few days of July certainly means that the potential is there for more of these heat events during the course of the summer," Coulson said.
With extreme heat events comes the possibility of severe thunderstorms.
"The humidity is definitely one of the main ingredients of thunderstorm development. We need significant levels of humidity in the lower levels of the atmosphere as the fuel that drives the thunderstorm activity," Coulson said.
In its summer seasonal outlook, the national weather agency said a transition to El Niño is expected to develop this summer, taking full effect later this year.
Coulson said the impacts of El Niño in southwestern Ontario tend to be more pronounced in the fall and winter.
"It doesn't tend to have the same type of impact on our weather patterns during the summer months," he said. "Certainly we know that southwestern Ontario is susceptible to the high heat and humidity, and certainly the events of last week definitely reminded us of just how extreme some of those events can be."
Coulson highlighted the importance of staying up to date with the latest forecasts and weather statements as conditions can change quickly.
