Florida ocean temperatures at ‘downright shocking’ levels

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The unprecedented ocean warmth around Florida — connected to historically warm oceans worldwide — is further intensifying the state’s heat wave and stressing coral reefs, with conditions that could end up strengthening hurricanes.

The warmth registers as a Category 3 out of 5 on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s. NOAA defines a marine heat wave as a period with persistent and unusually warm ocean temperatures, “which can have significant impacts on marine life as well as coastal communities and economies.” The agency describes Category 3 as “severe.”

Such warm water temperatures “would be impressive any time of year, but they’re occurring when the water would already be rather warm, bringing it up to bona fide bathtub conditions that we rarely see,” Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami and hurricane expert for Capital Weather Gang, said in an email.The toasty waters are influencing temperatures on land by raising the humidity, which makes it harder for temperatures to cool off at night.

Miami, Tampa and Fort Myers are expected to hit a heat index of 105 or higher on each of the next seven days, according to the“It’s an astounding, prolonged heat wave even for a place that’s no stranger to sultry weather,” said McNoldy, who also cautioned that the warm waters could make tropical storms or hurricanes stronger.

What’s important is accumulated heat stress. The map shows it’s at 4 to 5 weeks. Significant coral bleaching usually occurs when the DHW degree heating weeks) value reaches 4 weeks… and when it reaches 8 weeks severe/widespread bleaching at mortality is likely. 3/

 

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