Environment Canada's senior climatologist wants Canadians to have some historical perspective as they struggle to stay cool on Friday.
While Windsor-Essex could tie, or even break the record high on Friday, 80 years ago, residents were baking in 40 C (104 F) heat.
It was so hot, "they allowed topless bathing suits" for men, Phillips says.
"In Chatham-Kent-Windsor, the fruit was baking on the trees. There were a lot of traffic accidents because the tarred asphalt would melt," he says.
Back in 1936, he says 780 people died in a brutal heat wave.
"There's almost a royal commission set up now if somebody died in a heat wave where back then there were often in the summer, 40 to 60 people die," says Phillips.
The record high for Windsor-Essex for July 22 goes back to 1972 when the temperature hit 35 C (95 F), our forecasted high today. The region is under a heat warning.
Chatham-Kent isn't expected to break a record. Its record is 36.7 C (98.6 F) set in 1916.
