Triple-digit heat threat should ease in Brevard as rains, clouds move in

Help amid stifling heat, at least a hint of it, is on the way.

Weather officials say the brutal blanket of heat that has settled over the Space Coast and much of Central Florida will continue through the week but will be tempered slightly as scattered showers and thunderstorms continue to move onshore.

The National Weather Service continue to warn of excessive, dangerous heat. Heat index values rocketed into the triple digits on Monday, making it feel like 110 in some parts of Brevard County.

“It’s going to be toasty, so people who are outside should use precautions, take lots of breaks and find any shade you can,” said Jessie Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

The weather service says that the Space Coast will see increasing cloud cover beginning Tuesday, helping to shield the area from high heat. Rain chances will be in the 60 percent range for the remainder of the week, helping to push temperatures down into the low 90s.

Hot temperatures have been baking the nation for the last several weeks. Here a woman gets water from a fountain in Manhattan on a sweltering afternoon. FILE.
Hot temperatures have been baking the nation for the last several weeks. Here a woman gets water from a fountain in Manhattan on a sweltering afternoon. FILE.

The heat index was already in the triple digits by 11 a.m. Monday, hours before rain showers were set to develop with the arrival of the daily summertime sea breezes that fuel the storms. In Melbourne, the heat index hit 100 degrees by 11 a.m. In Titusville, that number was 105 degrees and in Cape Canaveral 103, the weather service reported.

The trend is also continuing across the southern states with excessive heat advisories stretching from Florida to Georgia and and far as Mississippi. Other excessive heat warnings have been issued across the west, with Las Vegas seeing dangerously high temperatures peak at 120 degrees over the weekend.

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In Brevard, Health First officials say that while some have sought help for heat-related illnesses, the numbers are not really higher than usual. Weather officials warn residents to stay hydrated and to not leave behind children or pets in the car and to limit time outdoors.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Excessive heat roasts Space Coast; rain, clouds to move in this week