kingston braces for heatwave ahead of canada day; temperatures near record highs a threat to life and property
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an intense storm reaches kingston yesterday, pictured in this image courtesy of skeye stream inc. high winds and a tornado warning came with the extreme weather, which flooded out some areas of the city and downed trees. (photo by jeff reitzel/skeye stream inc.)
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a day after circulating a warning for extreme weather and a threat of tornado winds, environment canada has issued a heat warning in kingston and the surrounding area for canada day and july 2, which will run into the weekend.
the government weather service is cautioning that daytime high temperatures will hit 31 c and up to 35 c on wednesday and thursday, while dropping to night-time lows of 21 to 25 c.
kingston first responders closed off a section of king street to clear up fallen tree limbs after an afternoon thunderstorm on tuesday, june 30, 2026 in kingston, ont. (photo by gare joyce/kingston whig-standard/postmedia network)
the average daytime high temperature for kingston in july is 24 to 25 c, according to various sources.
the record high for canada day in the city is 35.6 c, recorded in 1936, which matches the hottest days ever recorded in kingston.
the environment canada forecast called for mostly cloudy conditions on the holiday with a 40 per cent chance of thunderstorms. at 7 a.m. wednesday, the government service was reporting 96 per cent humidity in the city with rising barometric pressure and a humidex reading of 31 c with air temperatures already 22 c. according to the forecast, high temperatures on thursday and friday will reach 33 c.
in its statement that went out on tuesday, environment canada designated an orange warning with “a threat to life and property” for the coming days.
on tuesday, the government service put out an alert for extreme weather and a threat of tornado activity in an area stretching from prince edward county to pembroke. while no tornados were reported to have touched down and done damage, high winds and intense rain in the afternoon did some property damage in the city and fallen tree limbs caused traffic snarls.
hydro one crews work to restore service on park road in harrowsmith. power went out in parts of the town went out at lunch time on june 30 and caused the cancellation of canada day celebrations at centennial park in harrowsmith on july 1, 2026. (photo by gare joyce/kingston whig-standard/postmedia)
in harrowsmith, canada day events at centennial park were cancelled because of extensive local property damage caused by the tuesday’s storm and an extended power outage in the area around the facility.
according to cy chapman, owner of a home beside the park, the storm hit the community shortly after 12:30 p.m. “it only lasted 15 minutes or so, but it was really intense,” chapman said at lunchtime on the holiday. “it knocked down trees and the power lines were hanging really low. the power went out and it’s still not back on.”
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after the storm passed, chapman’s fears were raised when he received the environment canada alert on his phone with the warning of possible tornado activity.
“i thought that what we caught was the tail end of a weather system, so that alert was a little scary, but thankfully that was it,” he said.
chapman’s home and property weren’t damaged but just two doors down the road, hydro one workers and other service workers were clearing fallen trees and a pole. “they got here at about 10 last night and they’ve been working straight through to the morning,” chapman said.
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