Feeling the heat: Record global temperatures settle in on Isles

Jul. 7—The hottest days on the planet in recorded history occurred this week, according to climate monitors, which is likely not surprising to folks in the Golden Isles.

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NCEP, recorded global average temperatures 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and Wednesday, surpassing the previous record set on Monday of 62.6 degrees. Those are the highest ever recorded since the NCEP began keeping records of average global temperatures in 1979.

Randall Beverly had to endure the heat Thursday as he dug a trench to properly locate cable in the right-of-way of the U.S. 17 widening project. It was more than 93 degrees at the time, which is why Beverly said he takes plenty of water breaks.

"My wife keeps on me. 'Stay hydrated,' " he said. "The secret is to keep water in you."

His associate at Ansco & Associates said the heat prompts him to think about his career choices.

"I should have listened to somebody and stayed in school, got a degree and stayed inside," he said, laughing.

Climate monitors with the NCEP said the global average temperature records set earlier this week were the result of the searing heat waves oppressing much of the northern hemisphere combined with temperatures in Antarctica that were 18-36 degrees warmer than 1979-2000 averages.

The heat wave has been taking its toll in the Golden Isles as well. A local daily record temperature was tied on Wednesday when the St. Simons Island weather station recorded a high of 97 degrees, said Bill Murphey, Georgia's state climatologist. That matched the previous record for July 5 set in 1979.

Sunday and Monday nights set new daily records for minimum temperatures as well, Murphey said. The St. Simons Island weather station only got down to 80 degrees on those nights, making them the warmest minimum temperatures on record for July 2 and 3.

Other daily record highs were toppled in June, Murphey said. The weather station marked a new record of 98 degrees on June 28. A day or two later temperatures climbed officially into the triple digits for the first time this year, he said.

June tied for the 10th warmest month ever on average, according to data from the St. Simons weather station, with an average temperature of 82.3 degrees, Murphey said.

He said spikes in the global average temperature measure produced by the NCEP don't take into account longer term data, but even the longer term data suggests warmer summers are here to stay and that more extreme, isolated weather events will become more common.

"In a warming climate that we live in right now, you will see places that experience more extremes," Murphey said.

That means more extreme drought in some places, more flooding in others and sometimes more extreme heat waves like the U.S. is experiencing now.

The Top 10-ranked heat in June was 1.3 degrees above normal. So far in July, the average temperature is 87.2 degrees, which is 4.3 degrees above normal, Murphey said.

But because it's weather, that can change, he said.

"The good news as far as moisture goes is that a couple of weak troughs next week should help keep afternoon storms going in addition to the typical Gulf and Atlantic sea-breeze convection," Murphey said.

That could help cool things off a bit.

In Coastal Georgia, there is also the question of how heat and moisture and other weather patterns will affect tropical activity.

Murphey said the El Niño pattern, warmer than average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, will likely strengthen in the fall and winter. That creates stronger westerly winds and vertical sheers across the Atlantic which could help to keep the tropical weather that threatens the Golden Isles at bay. But, and it's a pretty big "but," Murphey said, the warmer ocean temperatures El Niño brings also make conditions ripe for tropical storms and hurricanes.

"You can still ramp up a tropical system pretty quickly in those areas of warm water in the Gulf and Caribbean," Murphey said. "We will see how that plays out in September and October when hurricane season really gets going."

The National Weather Service is predicting this weekend to be much the same in terms of temperature and precipitation. Daily highs are forecast to be between 91 and 94 degrees with intermittent showers and thunderstorms.

Terry Dickson and Tribune Content Agency contributed to this article.