Late week cold front expected to break Maritime heat wave

Summer heat wave

Although the definition can vary by region and country, it’s fairly safe to say the Maritimes is in the midst of a summer heat wave.

Heat warnings continue for all three provinces. For some areas, the warnings extend back into last week. You can look to a few coastal areas for more moderate temperatures thanks to a sea breeze, mainly the Bay of Fundy coastline of New Brunswick and parts of the southwestern Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia.

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Stay hydrated (water is best), take breaks to cool down, check on those who may be more vulnerable to the heat, and no person or pets should be left in a parked, closed vehicle for any period of time.

Just after noon on Monday and humidex values were already making it feel into the mid-to-high 30s for many communities in the Maritimes.

Thunderstorm risk

Hot and humid air can be fuel for thunderstorm development. While we have plenty of that, we are lacking a strong trigger to get thunderstorms to fire up. Examples of a trigger would include a trough of low pressure or a cold front, something to get the lift started in the atmosphere.

There is a chance of some pop-up thunderstorms Monday afternoon into early evening. They would be isolated in nature but could include downpours along with lightning. Areas with a higher chance of pop-up thunderstorms on Monday include northern and eastern New Brunswick, western Prince Edward Island, and interior areas of Nova Scotia.

The chance of thunderstorms will climb higher for both Tuesday and Wednesday as a trough of low pressure followed by a cold front approaches from the west.

Some isolated, pop-up showers and thunderstorms created by the heat of the day possible on Monday.

Late-week relief

A cold front is expected to cross the Maritimes late Wednesday and Thursday. The passage of the front will bring scattered showers with a risk of thunderstorms in the Maritimes on both those days.

Wednesday will still be very hot and humid. Temperatures and humidity levels come down a bit for Thursday. Humidity will fall more for the Maritimes on Friday. It should be quite comfortable for most on Friday with high temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s and not much of a humidex to contend with.

High humidex values expected on Wednesday. Humidity falls for the Maritimes Thursday into Friday.