'Warmer than Nashville': Toronto breaks 65-year-old temperature record

People enjoy the above seasonal warm weather as they cross the Humber River on a bridge in Toronto on Monday, March 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The temperature in Toronto was so unseasonably warm on Tuesday that it broke a 65-year-old record.

The temperature reached 22.5 C at Pearson International Airport by 10 a.m., surpassing the previous high for Nov. 5 of 20 C in 1959.

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CP24 that by 2 p.m., the temperature reached 23.4 C.

"It smashed the previous record in Toronto," Phillips said. "We were warmer than Nashville, Tennessee and a lot of Georgia today."

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Phillips said seeing this weather "really shocked" him, as these temperatures are more typical for September.

"We've never seen a temperature in Toronto warmer, and any year, in the last 87 years, after this date," the climatologist said. "So, in other words, any time after November the fifth or all of December, never a warmer temperature than Toronto got today."

Phillips added that the evening's weather is also uncharacteristically warm, as it is expected to dip to 18 C with a 60 per cent chance of showers overnight.

"That would be a hot … night in August. So it really is quite amazing," Phillips said.

The weather agency forecasts the rain could continue early Wednesday morning, though balmy temperatures could continue with a high of 21 C in the forecast.

Temperatures will cool off later in the week, as Environment Canada calls for 9 C on Thursday and then 11 C come Friday.

"These are going to be just seasonable temperatures, what you kind of expect," Phillips said. "Much colder than today, but still much more comfortable than you'd expect for this time of year." 

The average maximum temperature for Nov. 5 is typically 9.5 C.