Palm Beach County under excessive heat warning. When will the misery end?
Palm Beach County wilted under an excessive heat warning Tuesday, the first ever issued for the area as it was locked in a surface-to-sky sauna that National Weather Service forecasters called “astounding.”
The warning, which has been in use since 1993, is triggered for Palm Beach County when the heat-index or “feels-like” temperatures are predicted to reach 113 degrees or higher for at least two hours.
A triple-digit heat index was reached before 9 a.m. Tuesday. It hit 114 near noon, and mostly ranged between 105 and 113 through 4:30 p.m.
Cameron Pine, a meteorologist with the NWS in Miami, said a series of forces aligned to brew up the sultry danger.
A nosey Bermuda High poking at Florida's east coast is pumping in air from the south laden with tropical warmth. A blush of Saharan dust is helping dry out the upper reaches of the atmosphere, choking widespread afternoon thunderstorms. Sea surface temperatures are running 2-to-3 degrees warmer than normal off Palm Beach County’s coast, meaning any sea breeze that musters is flowing over sizzling waters.
“All these factors just combine into this big melting pot,” Pine said. “(Tuesday) looks to be the warmest day, but Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will at least be in the heat advisory zone.”
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A heat advisory is issued when heat index temperatures are forecast to reach 108 for at least two hours.
The heat index temperature is calculated through an equation that considers ambient temperature and the amount of moisture in the air using the dew point or relative humidity. Dew point is the amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is a percentage describing the amount of saturation of air.
A higher dew point makes the body's natural cooling mechanism — sweat — less efficient.
While outdoor workers are often the people who suffer the most in extreme heat situations, some indoor jobs are also sweaty endeavors.
At Tim and Deb’s Dry Cleaners in West Palm Beach, there’s no air conditioning, but five industrial strength fans create a constant breeze throughout the building.
Still, it can get up to 120 degrees in some pockets of the shop, said manager Jeremy Gauthier.
“We have refrigerators and ice and make sure everyone is hydrated all day long,” Gauthier said. “For the most part, we have a cool breeze with the fans, but this summer does seem hotter and longer than normal. We’re not seeing any breaks.”
An unprecedented 22-day streak of heat advisories for Palm Beach County ended July 26, although spotty advisories have been issued since then.
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A spokesman for HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee said despite the heat, the emergency room hasn’t experienced an unusual number of heat-related illnesses this summer.
But Natalie Brady, an emergency-room nurse practitioner at multiple Tenet Healthcare hospitals in Palm Beach County, said she’s noticed an increase in heat-exhaustion reports over the past month.
Early signs of a heat-related illness include dizziness, clammy skin, muscle cramps and excessive sweating. Nausea, vomiting, a throbbing headache and loss of consciousness are signs a heat-related illness is progressing.
“The first thing to do is get out of the sun and into an air-conditioned place,” Brady said. “If people are working in the sun, they should hydrate the night before, too.”
Florida Power & Light said in a statement Tuesday that it reached peak demand for power a “couple times” in June and July.
“Typically, the air conditioner accounts for 60% to 70% of people’s bills, and when it’s hot, the AC kicks on many more times throughout the day to maintain the desired temperature,” the statement said. “We suggest a range of 74 to 78 degrees for maximum efficiency, but customer preferences and budgets vary.”
Tuesday’s ambient high temperature at Palm Beach International Airport reached an unofficial 95 degrees, 1 degree shy of the record set in 1970. Wednesday through Friday are also expected to reach into the mid-90s with overnight lows hovering near 80.
The normal high temperature for this time of year is 90 degrees with an overnight low of 76.
David Houk, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, said this week’s high temperatures is an extension of the super-heated weather pattern experienced across the southern U.S. this summer.
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Most weather service stations in Florida measured last month as being in the top five warmest Julys on record. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota all had the hottest July on record.
July ranked as West Palm Beach’s sixth warmest.
The NWS does not track heat index temperatures, but University of Miami hurricane and climate researcher Brian McNoldy keeps a record for Miami. He said Tuesday that a 3 p.m. heat index measurement of 113 degrees broke a previous all-time record of 112 degrees.
Houk said temperatures may cool over the weekend with more moisture allowing for increased chances of widespread showers.
“You really need the afternoon thunderstorms this time of year to keep things cool,” Houk said. “It’s the duration of the heat that’s key.”
Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Excessive heat warning issued for Palm Beach County as summer heat goes on
