End of August marks the second-warmest summer on record

It’s a fresh start to September after a summer packed with more than 30 days of more than 30 C heat.

In fact, it was the second-hottest summer on record in the GTA and the hottest August on record.

“So far we’ve had 36 days over 30 degrees,” 680 NEWS and CityNews meteorologist Natsaha Ramsahai said on Wednesday.

The record for the highest number of 30 C days or more was 44 days set in 1959.

August was the warmest one on record with a mean temperature of 24.4 C, beating the previous record of 23.8 C in 1959.

It also was the sixth-driest summer on record, as measured at Pearson, with 113 millimetres of rain for June, July and August.

Compared to Wednesday, it will be a relatively cooler Thursday with a high of 22 C. The low will drop to 13 C. There will also be a fresh breeze in the air with 35-40 km/h wind gusts.

But the reprieve from the simmering weather won’t last long. The heat and humidity is returning for the long weekend and for the first day of school.

On Sunday, the high will be near 27 C with a humidex of 30, while Monday’s high is 30 C but it will feel like 35 C with the humidity. For the first day of school, the temperature is expected to reach 31 C but the humidity will make it feel like 36 C.

Below are some other summer weather facts from Environment Canada’s Geoff Coulson and CityNews meteorologist Adam Stiles:

Single warmest month on record at Pearson Airport was July 2011 with a mean temperature of 24.4 C. As of Wednesday, the average mean temperature of August is 24.4 C, which ties the record held in July 2011.

This year, mean temperature for June, July and August at Pearson Airport was 22.7 C, making it the second warmest June to August at Pearson on record. The warmest June-July-August was in 2005 with a mean temp of 23.1 C.