Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for parts of Simcoe County and surrounding areas:

  • Barrie - Collingwood - Hillsdale
  • Midland - Coldwater - Orr Lake
  • Orillia - Lagoon City – Washago

The national weather agency says a warm and humid airmass has been moving into Southern Ontario with maximum temperatures near 31 degrees and lows around 20 degrees tonight.

A cold front is expected to bring rain and cooler area into the region on Monday.

Dozens of families flocked to Centennial Beach in Barrie on Sunday afternoon to help beat the heat.

“I found out the water is still cold, a little too cold for dad, but the kids are enjoying it,” says beachgoer Andrew Crowder.

Other dads, like John Groves, swapped their power tools for shovels to build sandcastles with their kids.

“It’s too hot to work today. I was supposed to be building my deck in my backyard, but it’s Father’s Day so we decided to take a day and go cool down with the kids,” says Groves.

Water sports are also proving to be a popular way to help keep cool.

Mountain Equipment Co-Op hosted the second day of “paddlefest” to help people keep active.

“We have stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, and people are welcome to take any of those out for free,” says Jessica Brake from MEC.

Environment Canada says while this particular heat event will come and go, this weekend’s weather is a sign of things to come.

 

“With today’s temperature above 30 degrees, we’ve had five of those days this year so far, so already the seeds have been sewn to tell us that this is going to be a warmer than normal summer, that’s what our models are saying,” says senior climatologist Dave Phillips.

 

Paramedics also warn the extreme heat can be dangerous.

“Be prepared. You want to have sunscreen, a lot of fluid, consume fluid before you feel thirsty. Take breaks, make sure you find shade, go in the water or find an air conditioned space to go into,” says Simcoe County paramedic, Greg Bruce.

 

The first official day of summer is Thursday, June 21.