Fans spinning, air conditioners humming, people working out in the early mornings or late evenings: If you think this summer has been unusually hot, you’re right.
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So far this year, the Orlando area has endured 48 days of temperatures soaring to at least 95 degrees — and 29 days of 96 degrees or hotter — according to data from the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
That’s a lot of sweltering days, considering that the annual average is only about 37 days reaching 95 degrees or hotter.
Although comprehensive records for continuous stretches of days with high temperatures are not kept, this summer is not the hottest. In 1917 — considered one of the sultriest years in Orlando’s history — the area saw 58 days of 95 degrees or hotter by Aug. 19. A day later, however, outdoor thermometers dropped to a seemingly brisk low — and some would say delightful — 70 degrees.
But that’s not likely to happen this week, although Orlando should see slight relief in the coming days with temperatures headed closer to an average high of just 92 degrees.
However, the heat index — what the temperature feels like when the humidity level is calculated with the temperature — will soar above 100 degrees.
“The humidity is increasing, so it won’t feel much cooler,” said Robert Haley, a meteorologist with the NWS. “So people should still be mindful of heat safety.”
What’s causing the oppressive heat?
Sinking air caused by a high-pressure ridge hovering at roughly 35,000 feet in the upper atmosphere— the flying altitude of most commercial jet planes — heats as it descends to the ground. That sinking air also prevents widespread clouds from forming that bring cooling rains across the region, Haley said.
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The current El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which has weakened the formation of tropical storms in the Atlantic and has given us a mild hurricane season so far this year, plays only a minor role in the current hot temperatures, he said.
At Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs this week, dozens of pedestrians and joggers walked on the mile-long trail around the lake in the early morning, before the afternoon temperatures hit the mid-90s.
Adrian Pierce of Orlando visits the popular park about four times a week.
“But now I start my workouts in the early mornings, when it’s cooler,” he said Wednesday. He brings along mineral water sprinkled with salt to replenish lost fluids.
Across the lake, Shruti J.S. sat with her parents near the park’s amphitheater. Like Pierce, the University of Central Florida doctoral student starts her walking routine early.
“Otherwise it’s too hot for us,” she said. “Or we’ll come in the early evenings.”
For those anticipating the return of more comfortable temperatures, those are still weeks away. But by mid-October, average daily temperatures in the Orlando area should drop to a high of 84 degrees and a low of 66 degrees.
“Our summer is not over yet,” Haley said.