THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: Six record highs were added to the list Wednesday (available just beneath this paragraph), which brings the monthly total to 35. The record high of 88 in Tampa was the seventh one tied or broken this month in that city alone.
Record highs are again in jeopardy today in Florida. Cities projected to come within one degree of their record fro February 22 are Pensacola, Tallahassee, and yes – Tampa.[/vc_message]
Original story posted Wednesday…
It certainly feels like winter is over in Florida. Check that – it feels more like summer has arrived.
Wednesday could be the sixth day in a row a record high temperature will be tied or broken in the Sunshine State. It would also add to the list of 29 records already tied or broken this month alone.Not only are the daily records falling by the dozens, Sarasota and Tampa broke all-time monthly maximum records Tuesday with highs approaching 90.
Another record high temperature was reached at Tampa today with 89 degrees. This breaks the old record for today of 87 last set in 1997. This also breaks the ALL-TIME record high for the month of February which was 88 degrees set just yesterday and also back on February 26 1971.
— NWS Tampa Bay (@NWSTampaBay) February 20, 2018
An area of high pressure developed off the Atlantic coast earlier this week, and it won’t be going anywhere soon. This will keep the abnormal warmth in place across the Southeast U.S. for the next week to ten days.
While temperatures have been 10-15 degrees above normal east of the Mississippi River this week, they are 10-20 degrees below the normal from the West Coast to the Rockies, with plenty of fresh snow across the mountains in between.
Meanwhile in Florida, the record-setting warmth likely continues for at least one more day.
Content is current now, not necessarily at the time of the post.
Meteorologist Cyndee O’Quinn and UF Forecaster Kyle Kipple contributed to this report.
