Windsor’s weather will remain seasonally comfortable for the rest of the summer with some exceptions

As wildfires and scorching heat continue to break records around the globe, Windsor-Essex continues to endure a moderately mild summer compared to elsewhere in the world and compared to years past.

Officials at Environment and Climate Change Canada said on Monday that a “marginal” heat wave across southern Ontario is possible later this week, noting there has only been one heat advisory issued in Windsor-Essex so far this year, compared to seven issued during the same time in 2022.

“Quite a stark difference between what people in Windsor experienced last year with respect to heat relative to what they've experienced thus far,’ said Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Monica Vaswani.

Vaswani said in total last year, the region saw nine heat advisories issued, suggesting current weather patterns are preventing sweltering heat from hanging around.

“Right now, it's looking like a marginal heat event and what that means is usually for Windsor, we want to see highs of 31 and lows of 21 for at least two consecutive days,” Vaswani explained. “Looks like there is the potential for that from Wednesday to Friday, possibly.”

Vaswani continued, “And there's a multitude of reasons for that. In particular, though, for us in Ontario, it really has to do with our weather patterns and what we've experienced so far this year. We haven't had those Bermuda highs that we normally need to give us prolonged periods of heat or what we think of as a heatwave. But generally speaking, it's because of those weather patterns this year that we haven't had as a result, we haven't had any extended heat waves thus far.”

According to Vaswani, wildfire smoke from across the country could also be acting as a protective blanket from the sun’s heat, preventing it from fully reaching the earth’s surface.

“If you have an air conditioner, please go ahead and use it. That's your best bet. But staying hydrated, making sure you're drinking lots of water even before you feel thirsty. Because once you're thirsty, you're technically already too late,” said Vaswani.

Vaswani told CTV News it appears that August will stay with the status quo, noting next month looks to be seasonal from a late summer perspective.

“That's not to say that there can't be some blips where we see some heat events or some warmer than normal days. But generally speaking, it's looking like August is probably going to be kind of similar to July, nothing really to write home about in terms of temperatures,” she said.