It didn't take long for the London region to smash a 58-year-old heat record on Monday.
By 11 a.m. the temperature had risen to 15.4 C, breaking the previous record high of 15 C set on March 4, 1966. The temperature continued climbing under sunny skies, easily surpassing the forecasted high of 18 C by 1 p.m. The temperature topped out at 19.6 at 4 p.m.
The record-breaking, mild conditions are the result of a steady stream of air from the south moving warm air up from the Gulf of Mexico into Ontario. The unseasonably warm weather will continue through Tuesday. Environment Canada expects showers in the afternoon with a high of 17 C. That would shatter the previous record high of 12.6 C set in 1983.
Single-digit temperatures return Wednesday with a daytime high of 9 C.
The average high for this time of year is 1.5 C, according to Environment Canada.
Last month, the London region saw three heat records fall. The first two records fell on February 8 and 9 when the temperature hit 10.7 C and 14 C, breaking records from 1990 and 2001. The third record came down on February 22 when London hit 10 C, surpassing the old record high of 9.1 C set in 1981.
