Toronto's Weather Has Been So Chaotic This Season That It's Actually Broken Records

It's been a sticky and stormy summer!

Toronto Associate Editor

There's no denying that the weather in Toronto over the summer has been a hot (and wet) mess this year.

From sweltering heat warnings in the 6ix to storms that looked like the end of days was upon us, Toronto had all sorts of extreme weather this past season — and it actually broke records.

The Toronto-Pearson area just broke a record at 21 days for the most total thunderstorm days during the summer season. The second highest record was 19 days which was set back in the summer of '86.

Rolf Campbell, who documents the city's weather under the Twitter handle Toronto Weather Records, determined these specific records by parsing through the daily climate data from September in the area. He also went through historical climate records from 1937 to 2013. Campbell combined data from this weather observations website, too.

Every now and then, Environment Canada would issue severe thunderstorm warnings for the 6ix and for multiple other regions throughout the province, too. Occasionally, this would lead to instances of flash flooding, which have the potential of being a serious issue in Toronto.

On top of having some seriously soggy days, Toronto also broke a record for a heat streak. The Toronto-Island region had 116 consecutive days of temperatures equal to or over 19 C. The period went from May 31 to just last Thursday, September 23.

The previous record was 105 days from back in 2012.

While this includes temperatures 19 C and over, some days were way more scorching than others. Environment Canada issued heat warnings on some summer days because the temperatures felt close to 40 C. At one point the city was even hotter than the Sahara desert.

It's been hot and stormy this past summer and Ontario's winter forecast is already predicting some serious snowfall.

This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Toronto Associate EditorAlex Arsenych (she/her) was a Calgary-based Associate Editor at Narcity Canada, covering everything from what's trending across the country to what's happening near you. On top of her Bachelor of Journalism, Alex graduated with a history degree from the University of Toronto. She's passionate about past and present events and how they shape our world. Alex has been published at Now Magazine, Much, MTV, and MTV Canada.

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