Baby, it’s hot outside: Ontario endures heat wave as B.C. soaks

Hot enough for ya? If you live in Toronto, it's likely the answer will be a sweaty yes.

But in British Columbia, which has had a cool and wet June, you'll get a much different answer.

Toronto has declared a heat alert — its third of the season — as Central Canada braces for its first heat wave of summer, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-30s. Add some humidity and it will feel like more than 40 degrees Celcius. That's about 140 Farhrenheit.

"This will make for very uncomfortable conditions," Environment Canada said in a special statement covering a stretch of Ontario from Windsor to Ottawa, according to CBC News.

"It is advised to stay in an air conditioned place or seek shade when possible, drink plenty of water and limit physical outdoor activity."

According to 680News, a heat wave requires three or more days of 32 C or higher.

The city won't be opening cooling centres unless the heat alert reaches the extreme level, 680News reported, but it posted a list of air-conditioned spaces for those who need a break from the heat.

Meanwhile, residents were advised to check on family, friends and neighbours, especially isolated adults and seniors more susceptible to heat's adverse effects, the station reported.

The wave of heat is expected to move into the Ottawa area and western Quebec by Wednesday. Montreal could see temperatures of 33 C Wednesday and Thursday, and the East Coast will also feel it,CBC News said.

[Related: Which Canadian city has the happiest weather]

Environment Canada said it expects the heat to break by Friday.

The world's changing climate means we should expect more of this kind of weather, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraiton (NOAA).

The agency said United States recorded the warmest year it's ever seen, with the warmest spring and second-warmest May since record-keeping began in 1895, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The average temperature for the lower 48 states from March through May was 13.9 C, 2.9 degrees above the 20th-century long-term average and 1.1 degrees warmer than the previous warmest spring in 1910.

The U.S. Midwest was the centre of the warmth, a NOAA offiial said, which meant the farm growing season was earlier and farmers faced higher costs for controlling pests.

"This warmth is an example of what we would expect to see more often in a warming world," NOAA's Deke Arndt said.

Meanwhile, British Columbia has had a different, not unfamiliar problem. Rain and flooding.

Prince George, B.C.'s biggest northern city is under flood watch as the B.C. Rivers Forecast Centre expanded its flood warning along a 600-kilometre section of the Fraser River between Prince George and the Fraser Canyon, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Water levels were expected to peak in the next few days, with Hope, about 90 minutes east of Vancouver, forecast to see levels not seen since its last major flood in 1972.

Chilliwack, in the eastern Fraser Valley, issued a flood alert Monday for low-lying homes and farms not protected by the city's dikes. Prince George declared its second flood-related state of emergency so far this month, worried about recent heavy rains and an above-average snowpack, the Sun said.

Flooding has already washed out some northern B.C. roads and some inland ferries were not operating because of high water levels.

Blogger Barry Saxifrage said on the Vancouver Observer web site Environment Canada shows the city's had a far wetter than normal April, May and June.

"This soggy increase has happened with global warming of less than one degree C so far," he said.

"Sorry kids, but it looks like your world is going to be a whole lot soggier. Apparently we adults can't be bothered to stop trashing your future climate."

However, Environment Canada forecaster John McIntyre told the Vancouver Province that despite perceptions, June hasn't been overly rainy.

"We're getting a lot of not necessarily heavy rain, but it's been heavily cloudy and overcast," he said.

The problem has not been rain, but gloom, said McIntyre.

Vancouver has had only 68 hours of bright sunshine this month, while an average June experiences 229 hours of sunshine — an average it hasn't experienced since 2009.