This story has been updated.
“Unprecedented. That’s how I can best describe the #heatwave in #Miami,” tweeted John Morales, chief meteorologist for Miami’s NBC affiliate.
Unprecedented. That's how I can best describe the #heatwave in #Miami.
— John Morales (@JohnMoralesNBC6) June 26, 2019
Four records in 4 days (asterisks).
Ten heat records this month.
And setting the new record for highest number of days of 95°+ in the first half of a calendar year (8). The old record was 6. #climate pic.twitter.com/rilqjdKe8w
Miami is known for being hot and steamy in the summer, and for good reason. June through September, high temperatures typically range from 89 to 92 degrees, and they’re accompanied by suffocating humidity levels. Without the periodic cold fronts that offer relief to locations farther north, the steamy conditions are unrelenting.
While Miami is persistently muggy, reaching the mid-90s or higher is rare due to moderating ocean winds. (Its hottest temperature ever recorded is 100, lower than many cities well to its north.)
Yet, over the past six days, high temperatures at Miami International Airport soared to 94 to 98 degrees. The heat only eased modestly at night, settling between 80 and 81 degrees.
On many days, oppressive heat and humidity arrived within hours of sunrise. Strikingly, a weather station in Virginia Key, a small island east of downtown Miami, logged a record high of 88 degrees at 8:30 in the morning Wednesday, with a heat index of 102.
This is insane... we broke the record high for the day at Virginia Key at ***8:30AM***! The previous record was 88.2°F, set in 2018, and so far the high today is 88.3°F (lots of time left).https://t.co/0qyJpVI2FX #miami #heatwave #flwx #climate pic.twitter.com/MJGMCDr6hk
— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) June 26, 2019
Miami has posted seven daily record highs this month and seven days 95 degrees or higher, the most on record in June.
The month to date ranks as the third hottest on record, behind 1998 and 2010.
The hot June fits into what has been an abnormally toasty year so far, ranking second hottest year-to-date, behind 2017. A record eight days have hit 95 or higher in 2019 so far.
Two ingredients appear to have conspired to bring on this most recent heat wave: an abnormally strong ridge of high pressure; and a hefty dose of dry, dust-laden Saharan air. Both act to suppress clouds, thunderstorms and rain, and the Saharan air layer tends to act like an infrared blanket, trapping heat under it.
The heat has not been localized to Miami. Much of the Florida peninsula has experienced record heat over the past several days, and many areas are on track to have their hottest first half of the year on record.
Some relief lies at the end of the steamy tunnel: The forecast calls for highs dipping down to the upper 80s with increased chances of thunderstorms . . . back to normal!