Tampa Bay Cities Experienced Record-Setting Summer Heat
By Tampa Bay Living Magazine staff
July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded globally, with several Tampa Bay cities also setting records for the warmest months of the year between June and August.
The Tampa Bay area experienced its hottest July on record, with temperatures 2.5–4 degrees above normal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that nine out of 14 regions in West Central and Southwest Florida experienced the hottest August ever recorded. These cities include Plant City, Tampa, Punta Gorda, Venice, Lakeland and Fort Myers. And a study by Climate Central, a Princeton-based non-profit, attributed the high temperatures to climate change, not a coincidence.
In fact, the month of August 2023 was the hottest in NOAA's 174-year climate record, with the Northern Hemisphere experiencing its warmest meteorological summer and the Southern Hemisphere seeing its warmest meteorological winter on record. In August, the average worldwide land and ocean surface temperature was 2.25 degrees Fahrenheit (1.25 degrees Celsius) higher than the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 degrees Celsius). Four continents saw the warmest Augusts on record, with Europe and Oceania experiencing the second-warmest Augusts on record. August 2023 was also the warmest on record for the Arctic region.
“Not only was last month the warmest August on record by quite a lot, it was also the globe’s 45th consecutive August and the 534th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average. Global marine heat waves and a growing El Niño are driving additional warming this year, but as long as emissions continue driving a steady march of background warming, we expect further records to be broken in the years to come,” said NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick in a statement.
The global sea surface temperature reached a record high for the fifth consecutive month, setting a record for the largest monthly sea surface temperature anomaly (1.85 degrees F, or 1.03 degrees C higher than normal) of any month in NOAA's climate database. The worldwide surface temperature in June–August 2023 was 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit (1.15 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 degrees Celsius), making it the warmest June–August period in the 174-year record. The last ten June–August periods have been the warmest on record.
June–August 2023 was also the Northern Hemisphere's hottest meteorological summer on record, with temperatures rising 2.59 degrees Fahrenheit (1.44 degrees Celsius) above average. It was also the warmest winter on record in the Southern Hemisphere, measuring 1.53 degrees F (0.85 degrees C) above average. Globally, the year-to-date temperature was 1.55 degrees Fahrenheit (0.86 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average of 57.3 degrees Fahrenheit (14.0 degrees Celsius). According to NCEI's Global Annual Temperature Outlook and data through August, 2023 has a 95% likelihood of being one of the two warmest years on record.
Unmasking the Climate Crisis: Tampa Bay Faces Mounting Heat, Destructive Storms and Flooding Challenges
The summer of 2023 was a stark reminder of the escalating impact of climate change in the Tampa Bay area.
According to an analysis by Climate Central, the region experienced an unprecedented number of days with temperatures significantly influenced by human-induced climate change. Sarasota endured 66 such days, accounting for a staggering 73% of the season's 91 days. Tampa was not far behind, with 60 days, or 66% of its summer days, affected. This record-breaking heatwave was part of a global trend, as the summer of 2023 was declared the Earth's hottest since records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies.
However, heat advisories were not the only concern for Tampa Bay. The region is grappling with the severe risk of disruption from sea level rise.
Southwest Florida, and especially areas around Tampa Bay, is already a prominent example of sunny-day flooding, which fills streets with seawater during peak tides and heavy thunderstorms. Forecasts for 2040 indicate that much of the area could be three feet underwater, threatening Tampa's thriving economy, real estate, financial industries and two major military bases.
Global warming has accelerated sea level rise all over the world, with companies burning fossil fuels releasing greenhouse gases that heat the atmosphere. In turn, warming temperatures cause water to expand and ice sheets and glaciers to melt. Now, scientists say the earth is locked into more heating and sea level rise, but people can stave off the worst consequences of climate change by lowering carbon emissions.
Florida's state leaders have started to direct hundreds of millions of dollars towards flood infrastructure projects such as revamped stormwater drains and seawalls. Adapting to future flooding will cost many billions of dollars, and hardening defenses will not be enough to save everything people have already built. In Pinellas County, the research reinforces the need for local governments to react.
With near misses in recent years from major hurricanes like Ian and Idalia, emergency managers worry about storm complacency and the destructive power of water, which can pound islands and buildings with the same force as an Amtrak train car. The National Weather Service reports that just two feet of fast-moving storm surge can take away an SUV. To that end, these dangerous impacts put 289,000 properties in Pinellas County and its population of 20,000 at risk of Category 4 hurricane flooding.
Moreover, hurricanes, tornadoes and storm surges are projected to become increasingly destructive in the Tampa Bay area due to climate change. A Category 5 hurricane could cause 500,000 buildings to suffer extensive damage, displacing millions of residents and visitors, despite Tampa Bay not having experienced a direct hurricane hit since 1921.
Earlier this month, two destructive EF-2 tornadoes damaged homes and businesses in the Tampa Bay area, causing significant damage. A tornado hit Clearwater and Dunedin at 2 a.m., knocking down structures and leaving debris.
However, scientists are grappling with the complex relationship between climate change and tornado outbreaks. The U.S. experiences about 1,200 tornadoes annually. Attributing a specific storm to climate change remains challenging, as less than 10% of severe thunderstorms produce tornadoes. However, scientists have observed changes in the basic ingredients of a thunderstorm as the planet warms. Extreme storms are becoming more common due to warmer air masses in the fall and winter months. As a result, the U.S. is likely to see more tornadoes in the winter as national temperatures rise above the long-term average. Tornado Alley, a term used to describe where many twisters hit the U.S., has also shifted eastward into the Mississippi River Valley due to increases in temperature, moisture and wind shear—weather conditions needed for tornadoes to form.
In response to these alarming trends, the city of Tampa released a Climate Action and Equity Plan over the summer of 2023. The plan aims to reduce carbon emissions, build climate-ready infrastructure and support Tampanians along the way. However, as this summer’s heat advisories and rising sea levels indicate, there is an urgent need for more comprehensive and immediate action to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Tampa Bay and beyond.
