(Montreal) The heat wave affecting Quebec does not predict the weather for the next few months in eastern Canada, according to MétéoMédia, which however forecasts dry and hot weather further west, in provinces already struggling with intense forest fires.
“Summer 2023 will mark the end of a cycle with temperatures that will be closer to normal for Quebec,” explained André Monette, head of meteorology at MétéoMédia.
Mercury is expected to be near or slightly below normal for Quebec and Ontario, but “that doesn’t mean the eastern part of the country won’t experience heat waves, only that they will be less intense and less frequent,” added André Monette.
Precipitation caused by El Niño
The Weather Network predicts that the return of El Niño, after a few years of absence, could have a major influence on the weather for the coming weeks and months.
“El Niño is currently forming” and “it often brings descents of slightly cooler air” and clouds to much of Quebec and Ontario, explained André Monette.
In most regions of Quebec, there should be more precipitation than normal and the storm season will be one to watch, according to MétéoMédia.
“But nothing extreme, we don’t believe we are breaking precipitation records,” said André Monette. The risk of a derecho, as in the spring of 2022, “is therefore less important, because we will not be mostly in very, very hot weather”, specified the head of the meteorology department at MétéoMédia.
The 2022 spring storm, called derecho, started around Sarnia, Ont., and traveled more than 1,000 kilometers to Quebec City in nine hours. This resulted in at least four confirmed tornadoes and multiple downbursts with winds reaching 195 km/h.
Risks of fires and droughts in the West
In the west of the country, El Niño should rhyme with hot summer. In British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, forest fires are already causing a lot of damage and the risks that the situation will continue are great, according to MétéoMédia.
The data management and weather information company also believes that the possibility of drought poses a threat to crops on the Prairies.
According to MétéoMédia, the Maritimes will remain more sheltered from cool weather and will experience temperatures closer to normal.