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Added : Monday, June 22nd 2009 by greatmartin
Related Tags : weather
Fort Lauderdale hits 100 degrees, tying all-time high
An
official reading of 100 degrees was captured at Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 4:15 p.m. today, tying
the all-time record for Fort Lauderdale, set on Aug. 4, 1944.
It actually reached 101 degrees -- but too briefly to be counted, the weather service said.
As of 3 p.m. today, several heat records had already been broken, and temperatures were still climbing.
It
reached 99 in Fort Lauderdale, shattering the previous record of 96,
set in 1956. That also beat the all-time high for the month of June, 98
degrees set on Sunday.
West Palm Beach hit 96 degrees, breaking
the previous record of 95, set in 1992. It also was the second day of
record heat for that city.
And the high hit 97 in Miami, beating the previous record of 94, set in 1998. It was the third day of record heat there.
It is still possible that all-time heat records will be broken by day's end.
The hottest temperature ever in the tri-county area: West Palm Beach hit 101 degrees on July 21, 1942.
The all-time high in Miami was 100 degrees, set the same day in 1942. And Fort Lauderdale saw 100 degrees on Aug. 4, 1944.
South Florida's weird weather: Some explanations
You can see sun, mist and violent thunderstorms — all within blocks
By Ken Kaye
June 22, 2009
Contrary to popular belief, South Florida is not full of hot air.
Some
of it can be rather cool, even in summer. Indeed, at any given moment,
more than 100 weather stations — scattered between Homestead and
Jupiter — usually register readings with a spread of more than 20
degrees. It can be a mild 75 degrees at the beach, particularly after
rain, and a sultry 95 degrees near the Everglades.
For such a
flat, homogenous region, our weather is surprisingly diverse. In
addition to temperature variations, it can be storming over Boca Raton
"It's
one of the greatest places for a weather lover," said Jeff Mielcarz,
weatherman for WSFL-TV. "It's amazing in that in a small area there can
be such huge differences."
Why do conditions vary so much? Blame
the winds; they can deliver cool breezes off the ocean or sweltering
air off the Everglades. They also dictate whether storms will form at
the coast or inland.
"Easterly breezes dominate our weather, and
thus in the summer months you could have clear skies along the coast
and plenty of clouds and thunderstorms in Sweetwater" in southwestern
Miami-Dade County, said Phil Ferro, chief meteorologist for WSVN-Ch. 7.
Another
major factor: Concrete-laden metro areas retain a lot of heat compared
to rural grassland, and each area creates its own microclimate.
Meteorologists call this the "heat island effect."
"There can be
large differences over very small areas," said Robert Molleda, a
meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami. "This is
quite noticeable at airports, where temperatures can often be as much
as 3 to 4 degrees warmer than nearby locations."
Further, rain
and cloud cover can cool off temperatures considerably. In an hour, a
storm can drop a reading of 91 degrees to the 70s.
Molleda said
temperature spreads tend to be greatest during the winter. On calm
nights, after a cold front has passed through, "we can have 15 to 20
degree temperature differences between the coast and westernmost
suburbs," he said.
The National Weather Service has about 10
weather stations in the tri-county area that record temperatures, rain
and wind direction and speed. It also has access to dozens more
operated by the South Florida Water Management District, individual
weather spotters and private firms, such as WeatherBug.
Extreme
readings are discarded. For example, private weather stations in
western areas routinely register temperatures of more than 100 degrees,
even though the region rarely experiences such heat.
Molleda
said such stations might not be set up under the same strict standards
as those overseen by the weather service, which requires that
thermometers be sheltered from direct sun.
"When we look at the data, we don't just take it blindly," he said. "It has to make sense."
Weather
service meteorologist Barry Baxter said latitude is another factor. The
farther north a location, the more likely it is to be cooler, he said.
On average, West Palm Beach is a couple of degrees cooler than Miami.
And
El Niño and La Niña, large-scale atmospheric conditions created by
abnormal temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, help determine
whether South Florida will be stormy or serene, he said.
"It's all connected, basically," he said.
Compared
to other coastal regions, South Florida is "average" in terms of
weather variations, Molleda said. Places in California and Alaska,
which have oceans and mountains, can experience much greater contrasts,
he said.
Yet, because it is so built-up and wedged between the ocean and the Everglades, South Florida's weather is a hodgepodge.
"You know everyone kids about forecasting in South Florida, that every day it's the same. Well it isn't," Ferro said.
Lance
Powell, owner of Andy's Roofing in Hollywood, works throughout South
Florida and said he notices the differences every time he and his crew
do a job.
"Usually, when you're on the beach, it's beautiful and breezy," he said, "and anything past U.S. 1 is hot and miserable." and sunny in Weston, or vice versa.