Thursday temperature in Thunder Bay breaks record

Thursday was the hottest July 2 in Thunder Bay in more than 50 years, Environment Canada said.

The daytime temperature in the city reached 34.1 C, said meteorologist Gerald Cheng.

The previous record for July 2 was 32.8 C, which was recorded in 1966.

"We're having some congestion with the jet stream," Cheng said. "The jet stream allowed the very warm and humid air to settle across Ontario."

"Bcause of the congestion, because of the blocking pattern, it's now not able to move around."

Things are expected to stay hot into Saturday, but some relief is on the way after that.

Cheng said overnight lows will drop to the mid-teens starting Saturday night.

However, daytime highs will remain in the mid-to-high 20s "well into next week," Cheng said.

That's a bit higher than usual for this time of year, when seasonal daytime highs are usually about 24 degrees, and overnight lows usually dip to 10 or 11 degrees, Cheng said.

Cheng said the highest recorded daytime temperature in Thunder Bay also came in July.

On July 30, 1975, the daytime high hit37.2 C.

No other temperature records were broken in northwestern Ontario this week, but heat warnings remain in place for the region.