Heat warning expected to last until weekend, says Environment Canada

Heat and humidity areon theway for southwestern Ontario for the next few days, prompting Environment Canada to issue a heat warning for Waterloo Region and Wellington County.

Starting Thursday, temperatures are expected to stay over 30 C throughto Sunday, with humidex values making it feel closer to 40, according to the weather agency.

Blame it on the heat dome.

Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says that a heat dome isthe summer equivalent of the polar vortex that's hit the region in thelast couple of winters.

"There is nothing unusual about having cold air flowdownto southern Ontario from the Arctic," he said. "So there is nothing unusual that a heat dome moving from thesouthern U.S. [comes]to southern Ontario."

Despite complaints that the weather has been hotter, Kimbell says the temperatures we've experienced this summer have not been out of the ordinary.

The heat warning is expected to remain until the end of this weekend, but another heat warning could be issued for next week as temperatures are predicted to be high.

People aren'tthe only ones sweating

During these next few days we won't be the only ones sweating- plants are also going to feel the heat.

Crops like corn and beans sweat as they pull moisture from the soil, which then escapes into the atmosphere forming a pool of moisture, especially during July and August.

This contributes to the heat wave as the moisture from the plants air adds to the humidity.

An acre of corn is capable of transpiring several thousand gallons of water in just one day, according toPeter Johnson, an agronomist with Real Agriculture, a web-based company that focuses on agricultural news.