Good Morning everyone visiting zoomradar. This is going to be a shorter blog than usual due to the class and work load that I have. I wanted to continue to talk about the oppressive heat in the Southeast , especially in Florida, and the expanding heat that will grip most of the country. Right now as of June 19th severe heatwaves are gripping the southeast and southwest. Pheonix is expecting a searing 115 degrees today like yesterday some 10 degrees above average. Other places in California mainly Southern California the heat will build in the triple digits there as well. Las Vegas NV saw temperatures soar into the 105 temp degree range.
Now in the southeast we have a similar situation with a very strong high pressure ridge anchored over us just like the southwest. The only difference is the southwest has something called a Thermal Low that is working with the strong high. The thermal low is a shallow feature and the High is a deep feature throughout the profile of the atmosphere. I am telling you when El Nino years are present this heat mostly occurs. It happened during the 1997-1998 seasons where wildfires were present throughout the southern tier of the country. Now it is even happening in Alaska where fires are raging. For instance, Waterbury, Connecticut averages about 40″ of snow per year, received between 60-70″ this year depending where you were and who’s measuring, thus a surplus. Anchorage Alaska situated at 60 degrees LAT, 20 degrees higher than Waterbury, CT received about 20″ of snow, Anchorage averages about 75″ per year. So Alaska is in snow emergency because the last several years they have been well below normal in snowfall and above average in temperature. I know you are saying lets move up there, but no so fast. Alaska is dealing with there worst fire season to date. There are many fires close to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula due to recored temps, dry ridge of high pressure, and lack of precipitation.
Now back to the SouthEast U.S. In Wellington FL a suburb of West Palm Beach where I reside the heat has been relentless. I have a weather station set up in my backyard that displays temperature, humidity and air pressure in inches. Remember when I said June is the wettest month here, well keep that in mind. June, July, August, and September in South Florida supplies over 50% of our annual rainfall. Out of those months June and September make up 75% of the wettest months. So you can see this is serious. I know mother nature and the weather balances out but El Ninos have a wat of drying and heating pretty significantly so all of us that live in the southeast have to be aware of this. Now I have recorded since June 1st 19 consecutive days above normal temperatures, in particular the last 10 days. According to my data, here at my house the average diurnal reading is 95 degrees, 5 degrees above the average, and 78 degrees at night which is a whopping 10 degrees above the average. The night temps are just not cooling. The reason is a strong resilient ridge. High pressure ridge warm by a process called ADIABATIC WARMING – this process occurs when air is compressed and heated. When ever you get compression this results in heating and drying the double whammy, air can’t rise to produce clouds, in fact, air sinks, compresses, warms and dries. I am hoping for a pattern shift but I am checking computer forecast models and I don’t see any for the forseeable future. Another way to see future weather events is to see insects and animal behavior. For example, in my garden last year, there were so many insects and ants eating leaves and vegetables it was ridiculous before the rains came. This year NOTHING, and this was after a record heat in April and rainy April as well. So keep an eye on the insects and animals they are awesome METEOROLOGISTS.
CBS is forecasting this heat to build from the southwest and southeast to the northern tier I the coming week to 10 days.
TIPS: Remember stay hydrated, drink plenty of water, avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages, and take frequent breaks especially for those working outside. I am empathy for those working outside I did it for 15 years as a P.E. teacher in South Florida. Also don’t forget to check on the elderly!
Thank you stay cool and read the tips at the end!