The Miami weather team is used to the unexpected: powerful hurricanes, intense downpours, and sudden floods on otherwise blue-sky days.
Their inability to adequately comprehend the city’s recent experience of record-breaking heat, which occurred a full month before summer, is both illuminating and terrifying.
They were referring to the heat index, which considers both temperature and humidity to determine how hot it really feels. Weekend highs of 112 degrees broke the previous daily record by an unprecedented 11 degrees.
The 96-degree high that occurred on Sunday also set a new record. A high of 94 degrees was only one degree behind the record set the same day. May is often a more bearable month in Miami than the subsequent three or four, but this year, it’s out of control.
Florida saw its warmest year on record since 1985 last year. Coastal seas reached 90 degrees, which led to coral bleaching and may have contributed to the unexplained deaths of endangered sawfish. The hot Atlantic Ocean is one reason why hurricane experts are predicting a record-breaking storm season this year.
The state now has some of the highest insurance prices in the nation and has seen big insurers pull out due to the increasingly severe weather, which includes stronger storms and rising floods.
The heat index in Key West, which is located around 160 miles south of Miami, hit 115 degrees on May 15, breaking the previous record by 17 degrees.
Despite the hot and muggy weather, air temperatures in South Florida seldom (if ever) exceed the mid-90s. When very high humidity levels are added to already-stiflingly hot temperatures, the region’s heat becomes deadly.
Florida is one of the states most at risk from climate change, yet last week, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill eliminating several references to the issue from state policy. DeSantis has supported initiatives to make communities more resilient to severe weather.
Following Miami-Dade County’s near-adoption of the nation’s most stringent standards for providing outdoor workers with drink, rest, and shade, DeSantis passed a bill last month prohibiting local governments from mandating companies offer heat precautions.
