Severe Thunderstorms Approach Greater Toronto Area, Marking the End of a Heat Event

Severe thunderstorms are approaching the Greater Toronto Area, bringing relief from a three-day heatwave. Environment Canada has issued warnings for cities in the regions of York and Durham, while areas like Barrie, Caledon, and Haliburton are under severe thunderstorm watches and warnings.

According to the weather agency, scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop in the early afternoon as a slow-moving cold front moves through southern Ontario. The severity of the thunderstorm threat will decrease by the evening. Localized rain may result in lightning, hail, and heavy downpours.

These storms have the potential to break the ongoing heatwave, which has caused temperatures to soar to 40°C in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto specifically has a 30% chance of showers in the afternoon, with a risk of thunderstorms in the evening and overnight.

Environment Canada predicts that conditions will improve as the cold front passes by Thursday afternoon.

While rain is in the forecast, officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) expressed concerns about the limited precipitation over the past 72 hours, which has done little to alleviate the fires affecting northern and northeastern Ontario. Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist with ECCC, explained that the dry weather and reduced rainfall during the heatwave have allowed the fires to continue spreading. The ECCC emphasized the importance of any rainfall in helping combat the wildfires.

It is worth noting that lightning causes approximately half of all wildland fires in Ontario. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) has warned of potential “holdover lightning fires” due to unsettled weather. On Thursday, CIFFC reported 22 more fires in Ontario, with 21 of them being naturally caused.