Saharan Dust Intensifies Heat Wave

AS FLORIDA ALREADY BAKES AND HIGH TEMPERATURES UNDER A PROLONGED DROUGHT. ANOTHER WEATHER PHENOMENON IS TRAPPING HEAT. A 5,000 MILE LONG PLUME OF SAHARAN DUST BRINGS HAZY SKIES AND PREVENTS DAILY THUNDERSTORMS. METEOROLOGIST SAY AREAS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. WE'LL REMAIN EXTREMELY HOT AND DRY WITH ALL-TIME HIGH AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES ON JULY 10TH IN NAPLES, IT REACHED 97 DEGREES IN THE EVENING. BREAKING A RECORD THAT IS MORE THAN 50 YEARS OLD. THIS ALSO IMPACTS DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE OVER. 85 1% OF COLLIER COUNTY IS BEING IMPACTED BY DROUGHT. AND THAT'S ACCORDING TO NOAA AND DROUGHT DOT GOV. FOR MORE ON THIS SAHARAN DUST AND THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT. WE ARE NOW JOINED BY CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST IRENE SANZ FROM THE FLORIDA PUBLIC RADIO EMERGENCY NETWORK IRENE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AGAIN. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JENNIFER. A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. >> WELL, THE DUST MAY RESULT IN SOME BEAUTIFUL COLORFUL SUNSETS. HOW DOES IT ALSO PLAY A ROLE IN OUR LACK OF RAIN AND ALSO THE RECORD SETTING HEAT THAT WE'VE WE'VE SEEN AND FELT. >> WELL, BASICALLY GET THIS THIS IMPULSE, A SOFA CHAIR AND DUST COMING IN MAY NEED ARE IN THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER. JUNE IS NOTABLY KNOWN FOR FOR HAVE IN THE THICK LAYER OF SAHARAN DUST COMING OVER TO THE AMERICAS. JULY HAS BEEN DUSTY, ESPECIALLY THE LAST WEEK. I WANT TO SAY ACROSS THE SOUTH, FLORIDA, SPECIFICALLY AND BASICALLY IT'S PARTICLES TRAVEL IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND IT BLOCKS ANY SORT OF CHANCE FOR THE BUS, THE PRECIPITATION TO 2 TO IGNITE. WE ALSO HAVE A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WHICH IS WHAT'S TRULY BLOCKING THE MISSION OF THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE THE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS, WHICH IS IT'S TYPICALLY HAPPENS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA BECAUSE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM BRINGS SINKING AIR IN THE ATMOSPHERE AS THE AIR SINKS. IT WARMS. BUT IT ALSO PREVENTS ANY SORT OF A THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO OR THE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP. NOW WHEN WE HAVE HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEMS USUALLY MEANS FAIR WEATHER, MEANING NO RAIN OR LESS CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS, BUT IT ALSO MEANS VERY WARM TEMPERATURES BECAUSE THE AIR SINKS AND IT NOW WE HAVE THAT HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM. BUT THEN WITH THE SAHARAN DUST, WHAT IT DOES IS BASICALLY BLOCKS THE HEAT RIGHT OVER US RIGHT OVER THE SURFACE. SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE HAD VERY HOT TEMPERATURES. VERY MIDDLE RANGE. YES, WE'VE HAD RAIN AND WE HAVE THUNDERSTORMS STILL DEVELOPING BECAUSE I MEAN, WE'RE WE'RE WE'RE SURROUNDED BY WATER. MOISTURE IS GOING TO GET IN REGARDLESS AND WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. BUT THE SAHARAN DUST LIMITS, THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AND HAVING NEST UNDER STORMS MEANS ALSO MORE WARMTH, MORE HEAT, WHICH HALF CA SOME RECORD TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN NAPLES, A SET A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES LAST FRIDAY, JULY 10TH. AND OF COURSE, THIS SURPASSES THE RECORD OF 95 SET IN 1970, THANKS. SO VERY HOT STRETCH ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTH FLORIDA. >> IS THERE ARE ANY WAY TO TELL WHEN IT WILL CALM DOWN AND MOVE OUT? >> WELL, I WANT TO SAY BYE BYE, BYE. MOVING NOVEMBER. SO WE HAVE A WE HAVE PLENTY OF SUMMER HEAT LEFT. WE HAVE WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER. COMING UP, OF COURSE, WE CAN'T PINPOINT EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE WHEN IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WHERE WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE WAVES THAT, YOU KNOW, MY IT'S AFFECTING SOUTH FLORIDA. MORE NOW, BUT IT CAN SHIFT A LITTLE BIT MORE NORTH IN THE COMING WEEK WHERE THE COMING MONTH. BUT I MEAN, WE HAVE SAHARAN DUST. WE HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS NECESSARY RIGHT NOW AND WHERE EXPERIENCE IN VERY HOT TEMPERATURES. THAT'S WHY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED THIS HEAT ADVISORY AND THE HIT SO FAR. SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAS HAD AT LEAST 5 SOME AREAS, AT LEAST 8 HEAT ADVISORIES THIS YEAR ALONE AND PLACES LIKE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA HAVE HAD AT LEAST 15 HEAT ADVISORIES IN EFFECT. THIS IS MORE THAN WHAT THEY HAD LAST YEAR ALTOGETHER. SO I MEAN, TO SAY WHEN EXACTLY THE HEAT WILL STOP, AT LEAST THIS, THIS INTENSE. WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS WEEK WITH A VERY HOT TEMPERATURES BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAHARAN DUST AND WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS SET UP VERY CLOSE US, WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO BRING THE SINKING AIR. >> AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE THE HIGH TEMPERATURES THAT YOU POINTED OUT >> WERE ACTUALLY BREAKING MORE RECORDS FOR OUR NIGHTTIME TEMPS. THIS COMPARED TO WHAT WE PEAKED DURING THE DAYTIME. WHY IS THAT? >> WELL, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IS AFFECTING MORE THAN NIGHTS. YES, WE FEEL MORE THE AFTERNOONS BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE'RE AWAKE. THAT'S WHEN WE'RE RUNNING ERRANDS, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE OUTSIDE WHEN OUR ACTIVITIES. BUT SUMMER NIGHTS HAVE BECOME WARMER. IN THE FORT MYERS AREA. SINCE 1970, THE TEMPERATURE HAS INCREASED ON AVERAGE ON SUMMER NIGHTS BY ABOUT 2.1 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TEMPERATURES THAT ARE NOTICE A LITTLE WARMER AND NOT ONLY JUST WARMER ON AVERAGE, BUT WE'RE ALSO ESTABLISHING MORE EXTREME. SEE, THEY'RE MORE RECORD HIGHS AND MORE RECORD ARE IN THIS CASE, MORE RECORD WARM LOWS, RECORD WARM NIGHTS AND AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING TO POINT OUT IS THAT CLIMATE CHANGE HAS IT'S MAKING THESE RECORDS TWICE MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN THE LAST IN THE IN THE LAST DECADES ACROSS THE SOUTH, FLORIDA, AND EVEN ACROSS MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, WE'VE HAD RECORD WARM TEMPERATURES AND OUT RECORD WARM. LOW TEMPERATURE IS HAPPENING MORE OFTEN DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. NOW, THERE HAS BEEN TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT HURRICANE FORECAST MODELS AND IF ANYTHING IS FORMING IN THE ATLANTIC, HOW DID THOSE MODELS DIFFER? AND YOU SEE ANYTHING ON THE HORIZON THAT WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT. >> BUT WE CAN WE CAN THINK OF IT AS THE REST OF THE RIGHT. SOME MODELS TAKE AND TAKE INGREDIENTS FROM FROM ONE AREA OF THE ATMOSPHERE. ANOTHER MAJORITY TAKE ALL THE INGREDIENTS. BUT THE TIMING, IT'S IT'S IT'S A BIG SIGNAL. IT'S VERY SIGNIFICANT. THE INGREDIENTS THAT THEY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. I KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MODELS, ESPECIALLY LAST WEEKEND SHOWING SOME SORT OF SIGNAL ACROSS PARTS OF THE EASTERN GULF. BUT SINCE THEN, THE MODELS HAVE BASICALLY DIE DOWN. IF YOU ASK ME RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE NOTHING TO WATCH OUT FOR IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN, PARTICULARLY IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. THE CARIBBEAN HAS BEEN INVADED BY WIND SHEAR, VERY HIGH WIND SHEAR WHICH IT'S BASICALLY BLOCKING ANY SORT OF TROPICAL FORMATION ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN AND CLOSER TO US HERE IN FLORIDA AND THE GULF. WELL, WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE INGREDIENTS. WE HAVE TO HAIR AND DUST. AND WE'VE HAD A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT'S GOING TO PREVENT ANY SORT OF TROPICAL ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SO I'M NOT LOOKING VERY HOPEFUL WHERE NOT HOPING FOR ANY HURRICANES, BUT I'M NOT LOOKING ANY ANY ANY SIGNS THAT WE'LL HAVE ANY TROPICAL ACTIVITY, A NICE WIN FOR THE WEEK THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW, BUT POSSIBLY THROUGHOUT THE END OF JULY. >> WELL, I LIKE HEARING THAT THAT'S GOOD. THANK YOU, IRENE SANZ FOR JOINING US TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, JENNIFER. HAVE A GREAT DAY.