Unusually high temperatures above 90 forecast for most of the week in West Palm Beach area
Dangerously high temperatures will spread into South Florida this week like a rolling boil as humidity punches the heat index into the triple digits.
Wednesday, May 15, is forecast to be the warmest day with a daytime peak temperature of 95 degrees and a south-to-southwest wind pumping in tropical air doubly warmed over the steamy Everglades before reaching Palm Beach County.
The National Weather Service in Miami said the heat risk level on Wednesday is at a “significant” level, meaning the heat index, or “feels-like" temperatures, could rocket to between 108 and 112 degrees.
A heat advisory is issued in Palm Beach County if the heat index is forecast to reach 108 degrees or higher for at least two consecutive hours. An excessive heat warning is issued when the heat index temperatures are predicted to reach 113 degrees or higher for at least two hours.
More: Climate change triggers new Florida heat warning chart that alerts when it could be deadly outside
“The coolest day of the week will probably be Monday,” said Sammy Hadi, a meteorologist in the NWS Miami office. “By Wednesday, most of us will be dry and hot with plenty of humidity in the very low part of the atmosphere.”
High temperatures above 90 degrees are forecast at Palm Beach International Airport at least through Sunday with overnight lows in the mid to upper 70s.
#Thread: A Hot Week Ahead! 🥵
As we begin the work-week, we wanted to highlight the potential for *well-above average* temperatures and *hazardous* heat index values later this week.
Heat Advisories will likely be needed later this week with Excessive Heat Warnings Possible. pic.twitter.com/P6Op588XmT— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) May 13, 2024
The normal high temperature for mid-May is 85 to 86 degrees. The normal overnight low is 71 degrees.
Hadi said the warmth is being caused by an area of high pressure in the mid-levels of the atmosphere that will clear the skies of clouds and cause air to sink. Sinking air warms as it falls to Earth. Combined with unobstructed sunshine, temperatures will turn torrid.
“Without a wind off the ocean, without thunderstorms and showers, you can really get up there in temperature,” Hadi said.
The warmth this week follows a handful of record-breaking hot days last week, including a 97-degree temperature on Saturday at PBIA. That broke the previous high temperature of 95 set in 2011.
More: 126 days with temps that feel like 105 degrees? Florida's heading that way
A 94-degree measurement at PBIA on Thursday tied the record set in 1998.
Although there is no forecast this week for West Palm Beach to reach an actual temperature of 100 degrees, it has hit that mark twice on record. It reached 100 degrees on June 20, 1921, and 101 degrees on July 21, 1942.
The National Weather Service does not keep records of heat index temperatures.
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.
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: Hot weather, heat advisories forecast South Florida, West Palm Beach
