TAMPA, Fla — Tampa hit 99 degrees this afternoon, which has only been done one other time in the history of the city’s weather record keeping.
These records go back to 1891. The previous highest temperature recorded in Tampa was 99 degrees on June 5, 1985. Since 1940, the temperature has been measured at Tampa's International Airport. Before then, the weather station was in downtown Tampa.
Tampa has never seen the thermometer reach the 100-degree mark in the nearly 130 years of keeping records. Why? The proximity of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay brings large amounts of humidity into the atmosphere.
Humid air is more difficult to heat than dry air. This is why desserts get so hot. Also, Tampa International Airport, where the weather observations are done, is so close to the bay, that on most hot days, the bay/sea breeze develops and brings cooler maritime air inland. Today, that didn’t happen and we got close.
In general, communities farthest from the coast get the hottest in the absence of any thunderstorms.
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