Heat warning expected to last until weekend, says Environment Canada
CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2016 7:04 PM | Last Updated: July 20, 2016
Heat warning issues for Waterloo Region, Wellington County
Heat and humidity are on the way for southwestern Ontario for the next few days, prompting Environment Canada to issue a heat warning for Waterloo Region and Wellington County.
Starting Thursday, temperatures are expected to stay over 30 C through to Sunday, with humidex values making it feel closer to 40, according to the weather agency.
Blame it on the heat dome.
Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says that a heat dome is the summer equivalent of the polar vortex that's hit the region in the last couple of winters.
"There is nothing unusual about having cold air flow down to southern Ontario from the Arctic," he said. "So there is nothing unusual that a heat dome moving from the southern U.S. [comes] to southern Ontario."
Despite complaints that the weather has been hotter, Kimbell says the temperatures we've experienced this summer have not been out of the ordinary.
The heat warning is expected to remain until the end of this weekend, but another heat warning could be issued for next week as temperatures are predicted to be high.
People aren't the only ones sweating
During these next few days we won't be the only ones sweating- plants are also going to feel the heat.
Crops like corn and beans sweat as they pull moisture from the soil, which then escapes into the atmosphere forming a pool of moisture, especially during July and August.
This contributes to the heat wave as the moisture from the plants air adds to the humidity.
An acre of corn is capable of transpiring several thousand gallons of water in just one day, according to Peter Johnson, an agronomist with Real Agriculture, a web-based company that focuses on agricultural news.