Humidity and heat rise in Florida – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Andrey_Popov
Florida has been brutally attacked by record ocean warming.
Mid-90s (mid-30s Celsius) water temperatures are endangering fragile coral reefs, preventing swimmers from taking refreshing swims, and adding a little more ick to the already miserable summer weather in the Sunshine State. By the end of the week, temperatures will feel like 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius) due to humidity, according to forecasters.
If that were not enough, Florida is due to receive a dose of Saharan desert dust from Africa, which is anticipated to worsen the air quality.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, which confirmed unofficial records reported almost every day last week by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer using data from Japan’s weather office, the world is coming off a week of heat not seen in contemporary measures. According to Japan, the world’s average temperature on Friday was 0.3 degrees Celsius (half a degree) higher than its previous record-high temperature day in August 2016.
As climate change is connected to more catastrophic and dangerous events, meteorologists indicate that the North Atlantic has been scorching since mid-March and that global sea surface temperatures have been at record highs since April.
We are in new territory, therefore more records should break, according to Christopher Hewitt, head of climate services for the WMO. “This is bad news for the environment.”
Florida’s turn is now.
A buoy operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded water temperatures close to 97 degrees (36.1 degrees Celsius) at Johnson Key on Monday evening. An earlier buoy reading near Vaca Key was about 95 (35 Celsius). According to meteorologists, these are around 5 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.
Meteorologist Andrew Orrison of the National Weather Service exclaimed, “That is incredible.” The water is so hot that you can not fully cool yourself.
Although the readings of 95 and 96 degrees were in shallow water, hurricane expert Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami noted that “the water temperatures are 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit around much of Florida, which is extremely warm.” He said that his 95° pool only leaves him wet and does not actually cool him off.
According to Orrison, water temperatures in the Southwest Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico are 4 to 5 degrees (2 to 3 degrees Celsius) warmer than usual. The air in Florida becomes more humid as a result of the warm water, which “is making things tougher or more oppressive for people who are going to be out and about,” he said.
According to Orrison and McNoldy, the heat dome that blasted Texas and Mexico for a large portion of the early summer has seeped its way to Florida with sunshine, little to no cooling clouds or rain, but humidity that is made worse by the warm waters.
In addition to being around for some time as weather patterns appear to be stagnant — a symptom of climate change, some scientists argue — “it may actually tend to get a little bit worse,” according to Orrison, with more heat and humidity that has NOAA projecting a heat index of approximately 110 by the weekend.
It might get worse. According to Orrison, air temperatures over 110 are expected across the American Southwest, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, and southeast California. By the end of the week, Death Valley should have highs of 120 to 125, and potentially even a highly uncommon 130.
The humidity and temperature on Monday at Hollywood Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale, was about average at 91 degrees, according to Glenn Stoutt, who said the breeze made it comfortable for him to perform exercises and lunges with a 15-pound weighted ball while wearing shoes on the scorching sand.
It is amusing to see the newcomers and visitors realize their feet are becoming burned around halfway out, according to Stoutt. They begin to run, but you must get them into the water no matter how quickly you move.
In that humidity and warming water, coral is a concern for scientists.
The International Coral Reef Society’s Mark Eakin, a retired senior NOAA coral reef scientist, stated that there is a good likelihood that heat stress will start to build up very early in the season and that we could be in for some terrible bleaching. Coral is weakened by bleaching; prolonged heat is required to kill it.
This early in the summer, we are already hearing reports of bleaching from Belize, which is quite concerning, according to researcher Liv Williamson of the Coral Reef Futures Lab at the University of Miami. According to her, there is a 90% likelihood that many reefs, including those in Florida, the Caribbean coast of Central America, the eastern tropical Pacific in Panama, and the Pacific Islands near the equator may experience catastrophic bleaching.
Williamson wrote in an email, “This is only July, this heat will just keep building, and these corals will be forced to deal with dangerously warm conditions for much longer than is typical.”
Climate change is increasing the frequency of coral bleaching and die-offs, particularly during an El Nino, with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef losing half of its coral during the most recent supersized El Nino in 2016, according to Williamson.
A new El Nino, in addition to the ongoing warming caused by the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas, is one of the causes of the current heat, according to scientists.
The Sahara dust is another factor.
This time of year, it is normal for plumes of dust from the Sahara Desert to fly across the Atlantic on upper-level winds because there has not been much rain to keep the soil grounded. It does not happen frequently because it requires strong winds to carry them all the way to Florida.
According to Sammy Hadi, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Miami, one plume landed over South Florida on Monday, and the next plume was predicted to appear later in the week. The plumes normally last two to three days and help to dry up the atmosphere, which reduces the frequency of the afternoon rainstorms that are typical of Florida summers.
One benefit is that sunrises and sunsets are more vivid because of the sunshine reflecting off those dust particles.
In general, it enhances the color and beauty of the sunrises and sunsets, according to Hadi.
Make sure you are staying up-to-date with the latest and most important Florida news with Florida Insider. Whether you are interested in business, education, government, history, sports, real estate, nature, weather, or travel: we have something for everyone. Follow along for the best stories in the Sunshine State.
Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.