Profile
Photos
Comments
Steamy South Florida heading into hottest stretch of summer
By Ken Kaye
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
7:22 PM EDT, July 26, 2009
<br>
The heat is about to be turned up a notch.
While South Florida normally is steamy all summer, the last week in
July and the first week or so of August is historically the hottest
time of year.
The average afternoon high temperature climbs from 90 to 91.
To Marshall Rosen, 74, a Delray Beach retiree, it already feels like
his hottest summer in South Florida, and he's been here 12 years.
"It's just knocking the living daylights out of me this year," he said.
Temperatures have been hotter than usual this summer, largely because
June was scorching, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
On June 22, Fort Lauderdale soared to 100 degrees, tying the city's
all-time heat record, set in 1944. On the same day, West Palm Beach saw
96 degrees and Miami reached 98, also breaking heat records.
So far this month, West Palm Beach is a half-degree warmer than normal,
Fort Lauderdale is 2.2 degrees warmer and Miami is 1.6 degrees warmer.
Mix in humidity, and feels-like readings frequently exceed 100 degrees.
Expect temperatures to rise slightly --and blame the June 21 summer
solstice. That's when the sun's angle was at its highest, said
meteorologist Robert Molleda of the National Weather Service in Miami.
"There's a lag in the atmosphere from the time of the highest sun angle
until the time you get the warmest temperatures," he said.
Similarly, the coldest temperatures are usually recorded a month after the winter solstice on Dec. 21, he said.
Molleda said 91 degrees is based on a long-term average. Actual
temperatures could be hotter or cooler. For instance, cloud cover and
rain will lower readings. Sunny skies and a hot wind off the Everglades
will raise them, he said.
Molleda also noted that the next few weeks likely will feel much like the rest of the summer – muggy and hot.
"You look at the temperatures in June, July and August and there's very little difference," he said.
Ken Kaye can be reached at kkaye@sunsentinel.com or 954-572