Montreal is about to get hit by a heat wave with temperatures up to 33°C

After what has felt like an unusually long, grey, cool spring, Montreal is finally about to catch a break in the weather department.

A significant warm-up is on the way, and the timing is pretty ideal with the Victoria Day long weekend falling right in the middle of it. Temperatures will climb gradually over the next several days before peaking at something that feels genuinely summer-like by Tuesday.

Environment Canada's latest forecast has Saturday coming in sunny at 23°C, though clouds roll in around midday and winds could gust up to 50 km/h. The UV index hits 8, rated "very high," so sunscreen is worth thinking about if you're spending the afternoon outside. Sunday is cleaner: sunny and 23°C with none of Saturday's bluster. Monday ticks up to 25°C under clear skies, and then Tuesday lands at 29°C.

That's where it starts to feel properly hot. MétéoMédia is putting the feels-like temperature as high as 33°C in Montreal on Tuesday once humidity gets factored in, driven by a ridge of high pressure pushing warm air across the south of the province. Meteorologist Alexandra Giroux noted that for areas on the edge of the warm air mass, sunshine will be the deciding factor in how high temperatures actually climb.

To put Tuesday's forecast in some context: the warmest day recorded anywhere in Quebec in 2026 so far was April 18, when Ormstown reached 26.8°C. Tuesday should clear that easily.

The heat won't last indefinitely, though. A 60% chance of showers arrives Tuesday night and carries into Wednesday, which comes in at 25°C but with a soggy outlook.

Still, a few legitimate summer days built around a long weekend in mid-May is a pretty good deal.