TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Do you feel like this summer is hotter than normal? You’re not wrong.
The National Weather Service for the Tampa Bay area reports that July 2022 could be the hottest month ever recorded.
According to the temperature gauge at the Tampa International Airport, the average temperature was 86 degrees during the first 28 days of the month.
The average may increase slightly before the month ends with near-record heat expected through the weekend.
Previously, the hottest month on record was September 2018 when the average temperature was 85.8 degrees. The hottest July on record was two years ago, in 2020 when the average temperature was 85.5 degrees.
While the afternoon highs have been slightly above average most days this month, the bigger contributor to the record heat is the overnight low temperatures. They have stayed well above average with several days of onshore winds that keep it more humid and warm overnight.
On days when the afternoon temperatures were above normal, we had a stronger east wind that kept the sea breeze from coming off the Gulf of Mexico and cooling it down. That pattern also brings storms later in the day, forming after temperatures have already climbed above average.
June 2022 was also hotter than average, and the National Weather Service reports that we are on track for the warmest two consecutive months on record as well. The average temperature from June 1 to July 28 is 85.6 degrees.
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