The season’s first strong Heat Wave is holding. It comes a full month ahead of the official start to summer (which takes place on June 20).
The hot stretch actually began a week ago with temperatures and humidity surging above average. Instead of highs in the 80’s, daytime highs are reaching, or exceeding, 90-degrees daily. More importantly, the heat index (how it feels with humidity) is consistently ranging from the upper 90’s to lower 100’s. If you’re ready for relief, you’ll need to be patient. This “summerlike sizzle” will even grow stronger into the middle of the week.
The main culprit for this pattern is a large Hot Air Dome that expands out of the southern Gulf waters into Florida. This upper high (High Pressure that’s high in the sky) is providing blazing sun and a lot of dry sinking air. It’s this pattern that’s keeping our weather clear and quiet. On Tuesday we’ll have a light southerly flow that includes a steamy breeze. The intense May sunshine will boost temperatures again and keep air conditioners working strong.
Then, on Wednesday, we’ll begin to experience a change in the atmosphere, yet one you won’t notice right away. The Upper high will weaken allowing the Jet Stream to nudge a Front into Florida. This weak Front will push southward, very slowly, over time. Meanwhile (Wednesday through Thursday) we’ll likely face the hottest air of the year, so far. A west to southwest flow will deliver the abundant heating. As we get deep into the week some patchy clouds will return to the forecast with isolated showers. Of course, any bit of rain will be beneficial to our dry grounds. Also, these hit-or-miss showers could bring some temporary cooling “relief” by Friday and Saturday.