OTTAWA -- Ottawa residents should brace themselves for what Environment Canada’s top climatologist is calling “oppressive” and “sultry” heat this weekend.
A heat warning remains in effect for Ottawa, Gatineau and much of Eastern Ontario on Friday.
Temperatures are expected to reach 33 C on Friday and 34 C on Saturday, with humidex values reaching the high 30s and perhaps even 40.
But it’s the higher nighttime temperatures that will make the next few days truly uncomfortably hot, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.
“What we’re going to see are elevated temperatures at night of 20 degrees, and that’s going to make it very, very uncomfortable, very oppressive, very sultry kind of conditions,” Phillips told CTV Morning Live on Friday.
All the standard health warnings apply: make sure you drink lots of water, seek out cool spots, wear light clothes and avoid alcohol if possible. These are especially important steps to take during prolonged bouts of hot weather like the one we're expecting now.
“When you get a period of five, six, seven days in a row, then the body begins to wear down. Even healthy and fit people can belabor under those kinds of conditions,” Phillips said.
It’s also important to keep an eye on elderly people, who may have a more difficult time with the heat.
By the time things cool down this week, Ottawa will likely have had eight days this year with temperatures above 30 C, Phillips said. Last year by this time, we had just one.
Phillips said this heat wave is an indication of what the rest of the summer could generally look like.
“This is the dress rehearsal. This is the opening act to what we think will be a hot and rather dry kind of summer coming up,” he said. “All the models seem to suggest that’s the case, from the next month right through to Labour Day.”
