Our cold front is on schedule this evening accompanied by a band of clouds followed by brisk northwest winds. Today will be the warmest day (upper 70s) for about a week. Highs Wed. will only be in the low to mid 60s despite lots of sun. Brisk northwest winds will make it feel even cooler. Lows Wed. night will drop into the 30s inland -- away from the St. Johns River & ocean. A nice stretch of weather will follow from Thu. through the weekend with slowly moderating temps. -- chilly nights & mild days. Onshore winds might bring an isolated shower ashore early next week, but it would appear -- at this point -- that our next
best chance for rain of much substance won't be until the middle or so of next week.
A hard-to-see comet a few weeks ago has suddenly turned bright. Comet 17P/Holmes exploded a couple of weeks ago & has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter & increased in brightness over half a million times its original brightness! Though 152 million miles from earth(!), the comet can be seen with the naked eye & is visible in the northern sky near the Persues constellation. Click here for info.
A record-breaking summer in Key West. Here's the info. from the K. West Nat. Weather Service:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST FL
1045 AM EST MON NOV 5 2007
...A LOOK BACK AT THE RECORD-BREAKING SUMMER OF 2007...
COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER FINALLY ARRIVED IN THE KEYS THIS
WEEKEND...EFFECTIVELY PUTTING AN END TO THE RAINY SEASON AS WELL AS THE LAST STAGES OF SUMMER. THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS HAVE NOT ONLY BROKEN NUMEROUS TEMPERATURE RECORDS...BUT SEVERAL FOR RAINFALL AS WELL.
THE DEEP HEAT OF SUMMER DID NOT FULLY SET IN UNTIL EARLY JUNE. THE FIRST SIX DAYS OF JUNE WERE ACTUALLY COOLER THAN NORMAL...AS RAINY WEATHER PERSISTED AROUND THE KEYS WITH TROPICAL STORM BARRY FORMING AND MOVING SLOWLY THROUGH THE EASTERN GULF. ON JUNE 6TH 1.91 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...AND THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE 82 AND 74 DEGREES...RESULTING IN AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 78 DEGREES FOR THE DAY. THERE WOULD NOT BE ANOTHER DAY WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE BELOW 80 DEGREES UNTIL OCTOBER 25TH. JUNE 6TH WAS ALSO THE LAST TIME AN INCH OR MORE OF RAIN WOULD FALL FOR THREE MONTHS.
ON JUNE 24TH A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM AFFECTED MARATHON...PRODUCING OVER AN INCH OF RAIN...A PEAK WIND GUST OF 40 MPH...AND AN AFTERNOON TEMPERATURE READING OF 68 DEGREES AT THE AIRPORT. MORE SPECTACULARLY...BOUNDARY COLLISIONS AROUND THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED AN ENORMOUS AND LONG-LIVED WATERSPOUT...WHICH WAS OBSERVED BY THE PUBLIC AND MEDIA FOR NEARLY HALF AN HOUR...WITH PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED WIDELY THROUGHOUT THE KEYS.
IN KEY WEST...TEMPERATURES INCREASED STEADILY THROUGH THE LAST THREE AND A HALF WEEKS OF JUNE...PEAKING ON THE 24TH AND 25TH. THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 93 DEGREES ON THE 25TH FOR ONLY THE SIXTH TIME SINCE 1995...BUT THIS TEMPERATURE WOULD BE EQUALED OR EXCEEDED MANY TIMES THIS SUMMER.
THE HEAT INTENSIFIED FURTHER IN JULY...WITH 13 WARM TEMPERATURE
RECORDS BEING TIED OR BROKEN IN KEY WEST THAT MONTH. ON THE 11TH THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 94 DEGREES AT KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1991. TWO DAYS LATER...ON JULY 13TH...THE LOW TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 86 DEGREES...TYING THE ALL-TIME WARM MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR KEY WEST WHICH HAD BEEN SET ON ONLY TWO PREVIOUS OCCASIONS (IN 1985 AND 1993). THIS RECORD WAS TIED AGAIN WITH ANOTHER MINIMUM OF 86 ON THE 25TH...THEN ON THE 26TH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 87 DEGREES...SETTING A NEW ALL-TIME RECORD. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON BOTH THE 25TH AND 26TH OF JULY WAS 89.5 DEGREES...TYING THE ALL-TIME MARK SET ON ONLY TWO PREVIOUS
OCCASIONS (IN 1880 AND 1990). JULY ENDED WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 86.8 DEGREES AT THE AIRPORT...TYING THE RECORD FOR THE WARMEST MONTH EVER IN KEY WEST...WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY SET IN JULY OF 1880 AND JULY OF 1967.
AS HOT AS JULY WAS...AUGUST PROVED EVEN HOTTER WITH AN AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 87.5 DEGREES...BREAKING THE RECORD SET JUST THE
PREVIOUS MONTH TO BECOME THE WARMEST MONTH EVER IN KEY WEST. IT WAS ALSO THE SECOND-DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD...WITH ONLY 1.20 INCHES OF RAIN FALLING AT THE AIRPORT. THE LACK OF RAIN CERTAINLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE RECORD-BREAKING HEAT. ON AUGUST 4TH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS ONCE AGAIN 87 DEGREES...AND MINIMUMS OF 86 DEGREES WERE AGAIN RECORDED ON THE 11TH AND 27TH. THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 94 DEGREES AGAIN ON THE 6TH AND 7TH. IN MARATHON THE TEMPERATURE HIT 94 DEGREES ON THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH. ON AUGUST 18TH STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AROUND KEY WEST RESULTED IN MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES OF ONLY
89 AND 73 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE ONLY DAY OF THE MONTH WITH EITHER A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE BELOW 90 DEGREES OR A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE BELOW 80 DEGREES. IN KEY WEST ANOTHER 14 DAILY WARM MAXIMUM OR MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE TIED OR BROKEN IN AUGUST.
FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL DAYS OF SEPTEMBER THE HEAT CONTINUED UNABATED. AT THE MARATHON AIRPORT THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 94 DEGREES ON FOUR OF THE FIRST FIVE DAYS OF THE MONTH...AND AT THE KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT THE TEMPERATURE PEAKED AT 95 DEGREES ON THE THIRD...WHICH TIED THE RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER IN KEY WEST IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST TIME THE TEMPERATURE HAD REACHED 95 DEGREES IN KEY WEST IN JUST OVER 50 YEARS...SINCE AUGUST 16TH 1957.
ON SEPTEMBER 7TH-10TH A WET WEATHER PATTERN BROUGHT MUCH-NEEDED RAIN TO THE KEYS. FOUR-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS WERE 5.17 AT THE KEY WEST AIRPORT AND 2.69 INCHES AT THE MARATHON AIRPORT. DUE TO THE WET AND CLOUDY WEATHER TEMPERATURES WERE LOWER ON THESE FOUR DAYS...SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL IN KEY WEST AND MARATHON...BUT AS SOON AS THE WEATHER CLEARED THE TEMPERATURES CLIMBED ONCE AGAIN. IN KEY WEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES EXCEEDED 90 DEGREES AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FAILED TO FALL BELOW 80 DEGREES ON EACH OF THE NEXT 7 DAYS.
ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EVENT AFFECTED THE KEYS ON SEPTEMBER 24TH-26TH. THREE-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS WERE 2.02 INCHES AT THE KEY WEST AIRPORT...6.17 INCHES AT THE MARATHON AIRPORT...AND UP TO 8.90 INCHES IN TAVERNIER. ON SEPTEMBER 26TH ALONE 5.28 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT THE MARATHON AIRPORT...THE HIGHEST SINGLE-DAY TOTAL SINCE THE PASSAGE OF HURRICANE KATRINA IN 2005. FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER MARATHON RECORDED 12.08 INCHES OF RAIN WHILE 9.31 INCHES FELL AT THE KEY WEST AIRPORT. THE RAINY WEATHER LOWERED TEMPERATURES...WITH THE TEMPERATURE FAILING TO REACH 90 DEGREES ON THE LAST 7 DAYS OF THE MONTH IN MARATHON AND ON 6 OF THE LAST 8 DAYS IN KEY WEST.
NEVERTHELESS...FIVE DAILY WARM MAXIMUM OR MINIMUM TEMPERATURE
RECORDS WERE TIED OR BROKEN IN KEY WEST...AND THE MONTH STILL
FINISHED AS THE THIRD-WARMEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD.
THE RELENTLESS HEAT CONTINUED INTO OCTOBER...WITH ANOTHER 11 DAILY WARM MAXIMUM OR MINIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS BEING TIED OR BROKEN IN KEY WEST. THE MONTH WOULD END WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 83.5 DEGREES...MAKING IT THE WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD IN KEY WEST. ON THE 18TH THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 83 DEGREES...TYING THE RECORD (SET IN 1991) FOR THE WARMEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN KEY WEST IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
LATER IN THE MONTH OCTOBER RECORDED TWO EXCEPTIONAL RAINFALL EVENTS IN THE LOWER KEYS. THE FIRST OCCURRED ON THE NIGHT OF THE 20TH THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 21ST. ON THE 20TH KEY WEST
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BROKE A DAILY RECORD WITH 5.02 INCHES OF
RAIN...WITH 3.20 INCHES OF THIS FALLING IN JUST ONE HOUR. FURTHER UP
THE ISLANDS...AN OVERNIGHT TOTAL OF 5.33 INCHES OF RAIN WAS MEASURED ON CENTRAL BIG PINE KEY AND AN INCREDIBLE 11.50 INCHES OF RAIN WAS REPORTED ON LITTLE TORCH KEY. WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW-LYING AREAS OCCURRED THROUGHOUT THE LOWER KEYS.
ONLY FOUR DAYS LATER...ON THE NIGHT OF THE 24TH THROUGH THE EARLY
MORNING OF THE 25TH...ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EVENT OCCURRED IN KEY WEST AS SLOW-MOVING STORMS DROPPED COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN ON ABOUT THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE ISLAND. AT THE AIRPORT ON THE EASTERN TIP OF KEY WEST ONLY 2.92 INCHES OF RAIN WAS MEASURED...BUT AT THE NWS OFFICE ON WHITE STREET 6.43 INCHES WAS RECORDED OVERNIGHT...WITH NEARLY THE ENTIRE AMOUNT FALLING BETWEEN 1000 PM ON THE 24TH AND 400 AM ON THE 25TH. SIGNIFICANT FLOODING OCCURRED ACROSS THE ISLAND...WITH SOME AREAS TAKING DAYS FOR THE WATERS TO RECEDE. OCTOBER ENDED WITH 11.25 INCHES OF RAIN AT KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THIS WAS THE SECOND-WETTEST MONTH IN KEY WEST IN THE LAST 8 YEARS...ONLY BEHIND AUGUST 2005 WHEN NEARLY 10 INCHES FELL IN JUST ONE DAY WITH THE PASSAGE OF HURRICANE KATRINA.
THE KEYS FINALLY RECEIVED SOME RELIEF ON SATURDAY...NOVEMBER
2ND...AS COOLER AIR FILTERED DOWN THE FLORIDA PENINSULA AND PASSED THROUGH THE KEYS. MANY ISLAND LOCATIONS RECORDED MINIMUM TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 60S SUNDAY MORNING AND MONDAY MORNING...THE FIRST SUCH READINGS (ASIDE FROM THUNDERSTORMS) SINCE EARLY MAY. NO RAIN HAS FALLEN IN KEY WEST OR MARATHON SO FAR THIS MONTH...AND BOTH SUMMER AND THE RAINY SEASON HAVE NOW EFFECTIVELY ENDED.
Christmas music already??!! No way, right?? I heard the music today while recording my weathercasts for radio. Here's the press release from Clear Channel:
On November 6th, 2007, at 12Noon EST, WROO 93.3 FM began broadcasting
“Continuous Christmas Classics.” This means that Jacksonville now has a station delivering a unique holiday-themed musical presentation 24/7 throughout the season.
Gail Austin, Director of Programming and Operations for Clear Channel Radio’s Jacksonville cluster, cited research that indicated Jacksonville area radio listeners craved a destination for holiday favorites.
