78-year-old Toronto temperature record set ablaze by intense heat
After a slow start to spring, Toronto quickly caught up on the summer-like heat that other parts of the country have already seen this year, breaking a 78-year-old daily temperature record Tuesday as the daytime high hit 32.8°C.
Safe to say Toronto had a sluggish start to spring, taking several weeks to hit 20°C, the city's third-latest on record, and finally reaching (and surpassing) the 30-degree mark for the first time this year on Monday.
Things have finally heated up in the major Ontario city, albeit for a short stint before cooler air arrives Wednesday, documenting a 31.9°C reading on Monday -- the country's hot spot.
On Tuesday, Pearson International Airport broke a 78-year-old daily temperature record -- hitting a daytime high of 32.8°C, enough to crack its top 10 days of warmest May readings and claim Canada's hottest location for a second day in a row. The previous May 31 record was 31.1°C, which was set in 1944.
A notable fact is that the airport has only topped 34°C three times in May, according to Michael Carter, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. The most recent occurrence was in 2006 and twice during a heat wave in 1962.
If you want to find comparable May temperatures, you can scale back just one year to find that it hit 33.3°C on May 25, Carter added.
What was responsible for Toronto's record-breaking daily temperature for May 31?
A strong ridge of high pressure anchored over the U.S. Midwest that ushered in the summer-like heat from the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and Tuesday. The heat even spread into northern Ontario with widespread 30-degree daytime highs Tuesday, along with humidex values into the 30s.
The taste of mid-summer prompted heat warnings and special weather statements from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), which will be dropped once cooler air arrives.
With files from Michael Carter, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.