Hottest weather of the year so far coming to the Maritimes

A heat dome developing in the eastern United States will bring the hottest temperatures and highest humidex values of the year so far to the Maritimes this week.

A heat dome is a large and persistent area of high pressure. The high pressure keeps the area relatively cloud free and acts as a lid of sorts to trap heat. This allows temperatures under the dome to build, day-after-day, with little relief as long as the pattern persists.

The Maritimes will begin to feel the effects of this as early as Tuesday in New Brunswick. It will peak Wednesday and Thursday across the entire region.

Hot and humid weather builds into the Maritimes through much of this week. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

It’s the heat and the humidity

Environment Canada issued a heat warning for New Brunswick and parts of Nova Scotia. High temperatures on will reach the high 20s and low-30s on Tuesday, except for mid-20s on the Bay of Fundy coastline. A persistent southerly wind will raise the level of humidity in the Maritimes this week. Humidex values, or what it feels like taking into account temperature and humidity, will feel in the mid-to-high 30s in New Brunswick Tuesday.

A Heat Warning has been issued by Environment Canada for the province of New Brunswick. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

Both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will be quite warm on Tuesday. High temperatures for both those provinces will be in the mid-to-high 20s away from the coast. Areas directly on the coast will have highs in the low-to-mid 20s.

The heat and humidity will continue to build into Wednesday and Thursday. There will be non-coastal high temperatures across much of the Maritimes in the high 20s and low 30s both days. Humidex values will make it feel well into the 30s for most of the Maritimes with humidex readings in the low 40s likely for some communities in New Brunswick and interior areas of Nova Scotia.

Watch for alerts and guidance regarding the heat from both government and municipal sources. Check on those who may be more vulnerable in stretches of hot weather. Remember we haven’t been into a real stretch of summer heat yet so far this year so our bodies aren’t acclimatized yet. Don’t over-exert in the heat and stay hydrated. No person or pet should be left in a closed vehicle without A/C running for any period of time.

Weekend rain

Parts of the Maritimes picked up some much-needed rain on Saturday. It wasn’t evenly distributed across the region. Nova Scotia and eastern areas of Prince Edward Island picked up the most. Aside from the Bay of Fundy coastline and southeastern New Brunswick, most of the rain reports shown for the province were a result of the scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday.

At the end of May the Canadian Drought Monitor had much of the Maritimes rated as being in “abnormally dry” conditions.

Rain totals reported around the Maritimes Friday and Saturday. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)