Florida
South Florida’s scorching temps make for a weekend record-breaker. Here’s what’s ahead.
A record-breaking heat wave has most of South Florida wilting — and wondering when it will end.
There’s no major cooldown ahead just yet, but temperatures will drop a touch on Monday, said George Rizzuto, a meteorologist at the Miami office of the National Weather Service.
Monday’s heat index will hit around 100 degrees, down from Sunday’s “feels-like” temps of 105 to 110 degrees.
“It will still be hot, but not as oppressively hot as it has been this weekend,” Rizzuto said. “For Tuesday and Wednesday you can expect indices in the upper 90s.”
Next Saturday, the heat index will rise back up to 100 degrees, according to the forecast.
“Not too much of a break in the heat,” Rizzuto said.
Hot and humid conditions continued Sunday, with temperatures hitting to the low- to mid-90s and the peak heat index ranging from 105 to 110 degrees.
Both Broward and Miami-Dade counties were under a heat advisory until 6 p.m. Sunday.
The maximum heat index forecast for Sunday afternoon was 105 degrees in Fort Lauderdale; 106 degrees in West Palm Beach; and 109 degrees in Miami and Homestead.
The heat index is a measure of how hot it really feels when relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature.
“If you’re spending any time outside (Sunday), it is imperative that you are hydrating nearly constantly and take breaks from the direct sun,” the National Weather Service warned on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Saturday’s blistering heat was a record-breaker.
“West Palm Beach set a new record with a temp of 97,” Rizzuto said. “Their old record was 94, set in 1922. It beat it by 3 degrees. Fort Lauderdale tied their maximum temperature record of 96. That was set back in 2008.”
The region’s nightly lows did not drop much below 80 degrees Friday night into Saturday morning, Rizzuto said.
So now we have new records for minimum lows.
The new record low for West Palm Beach is now 80 degrees. That beat an old record of 78 degrees set back in 2003.
Fort Lauderdale set a new record low of 80 degrees. The previous record low was 77 degrees, set in 2015.
Miami set a new minimum low of 81 degrees. The old record of 79 degrees was set back in 1935.
Strong to severe storms were possible Sunday afternoon, according to meteorologists in Miami.
“Primary hazards will be large hail and damaging wind gusts but a tornado or two can’t be ruled out,” the National Weather Service’s Miami office said in its Sunday advisory.
Showers and thunderstorms might roll into Broward’s eastern metro areas late afternoon Sunday and into the evening, Rizzuto said.
But Palm Beach County’s eastern metro areas and Lake Okeechobee region are at a higher risk for thunderstorms Sunday afternoon and evening.
“I can’t rule out a strong cell for Miami-Dade County and its eastern metro areas,” Rizzuto said.
An isolated tornado might also be in the cards, he added.
“We can’t rule out hail either,” Rizzuto said. “The hail risk is more maximized toward northern Palm Beach County and the Lake Okeechobee area. We have a low pressure system pushing toward the east. That could allow raindrops to stay frozen in the upper atmosphere. But sometimes the hail melts before it gets to the ground.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
Florida
Area to watch for tropical development in Gulf to bring downpours to drought-stricken Florida | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather
Area to watch for tropical development in Gulf to bring downpours to drought-stricken Florida
While this area to watch for tropical development may not actually become tropical, it will definitely bring rain to Florida, which desperately needs it. The system is likely to bring the most significant rain to the Florida panhandle down south to Tampa, but the entire state can expect some moisture through midweek next week.
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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