It appears Hamilton, Ont., has set an April 13 record for the highest temperature ever recorded on this day.
According to Environment Canada, the city hit 27.1 C at Hamilton’s John C. Munro International Airport at 2 p.m. Thursday to beat the previous high of 26.1 C set in 1977.
The high for the day would top 27.3 C by 4 p.m., according to meteorologists.
The milestone will not be made official by Canada’s weather agency until Friday, when data is verified.
A Twitter account run by self-proclaimed weather enthusiast Rolf Campbell, who looks at Environment Canada records prior to 1960, suggests the high went to 27.8 C as of 3 p.m., the hottest April day in more than 20 years.
Global News senior meteorologist Anthony Farnell says several greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA) reporting stations either surpassed all-time highs or came really close.
“So it is a summer day,” said Farnell.
“This would be a hot day in July, although there isn’t a lot of humidity. That’s the big difference. It’s a dry heat that we’re seeing.”
He went on to warn Hamiltonians that temperatrures are expected to “get back to reality” next week, likely going back to “single digits.”
“There are still some days with highs in the single digits,” Farnell said.
“We’re still not out of the woods when it comes to frost before we start planting some of that tender vegetation. I know it’s tempting to get going, but it is April.”
The heat is expected to continue on Friday with sunshine and 27 C expected.
Temperatures will level off to about 20 C on the weekend before sliding back to a high of just 7 C on Monday.