Summer-like surge of heat expected in Toronto area Sunday

Despite this being the first full week of fall, the Greater Toronto Area is in for a gorgeous Sunday of summer-like weather heading into October.

“While today’s high will be pleasant and above normal, the impressive warmth will surge in on the weekend and will hold for much of next week,” CP24 meteorologist Bill Coulter said.

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A high of 25 C is expected on Sunday, with lots of sunshine. Monday is expected to be warm again, with a high of 26 C.

The balmy weather is expected to last into Tuesday and Wednesday with more sunshine and a high of 25 C expected both days.

“Thursday will offer more clouds, but still well above normal temps climbing into the mid 20s,” Coulter said.

Typically the daily high around this time of year is 17 to 18 C.

Environment Canada Senior Climatologist David Phillips told CP24 that the warm weekend is part of a beautiful stretch of weather that set in for September after a somewhat rainy summer.

“My gosh, we didn't have any days above 30 in August. And then right away at the beginning of Labour Day we had four days in a row above 30,” Phillips said. “The whole month has been absolutely spectacular.”  

Phillips said that while the weather is “not breaking any records,” it falls in the zone where most people tend to be most comfortable.

“Who doesn't like this weather? I mean, you're saving money on your air conditioning bills. You can sleep… with the windows open. But then during the day, these are these temperatures that are five or six degrees warmer than normal,” he said.

While some people might be inclined to think that we’ll have to pay for the beautiful weather with what follows, Phllips said that may not be the case this year.

“We have an El Nino. This generally means a milder than normal winter, even here in Ontario,” he said. “Snowfall (amount) is hard to say. We're not cancelling winter, but I think it will be tame. So keep this fall going.”

While a harsh winter may not lie ahead, this is still likely the time to get in one last beach visit before more seasonal temperatures take hold.  

“Enjoy the summer-like warmth while it’s here,” Coulter said. “Models suggest rain (next) Friday and much colder air arriving by the Thanksgiving Long weekend.”