Currently in Toronto — July 18th 2022
The weather, currently.
Rain at last! A disturbance will push in tonight, bringing some much needed rain into the region. This will be a widespread event through the Monday morning commute with possibly some pockets of heavy rain at times. A slow and steady rainfall would be more beneficial, but, considering we have received less than 1/2 of our normal precipitation since May, any rain at this point is better than none.
The rain will continue through the late morning, with a risk of a thunderstorm around lunchtime, before the moisture starts to taper off for the GTA. It will be drier for the drive home with some clearing for late afternoon. This disturbance will also help steer heat and humidity into the lower Great Lakes, a trend that will continue for the next few days. The high tomorrow 27°C, which will seem like 34°C. The UV index will be 6 or high.
Monday Night: Scattered cloud cover with an uncomfortable low of 21°C, which will seem closer to 25°C with the humidex.
Side Note: It is likely that heat and thunderstorm warnings will be issued for some areas of southern Ontario.
What you need to know, currently.
Monday and Tuesday are expected to be the two hottest days in UK history, with temperatures forecast to reach 40 deg C (104 deg F) there for the first time ever.
In a conversation with Currently on Sunday, UK Met Office climate scientist Richard Betts issued a strong warning.
“It's clear that the UK is not ready for such high temperatures,” said Betts. “Transport networks, railways, energy systems, buildings and so on — which have been set up for the climate that used to be — are not ready for the temperatures we're expecting.
”Buildings in the UK tend to be built to keep warm in winter, and only 0.5% of residential homes in the UK have air conditioning. For both days, the UK Met Office has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a Red Warning, the nation’s highest weather alert level — equivalent to a national emergency.
This is the first time the UK Met Office has ever issued a forecast of 40 deg C. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom was 38.7 deg C (101.7 deg F) on July 25th in 2019 at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens.
“There's a 90% chance that record is gonna be broken,” said Betts.
Listen to our full conversation with Richard Betts on the UK heatwave.