Meteorologists: Miami Experienced 3rd Warmest Winter On Record
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – While winter is typically the time when South Florida gets a much needed break from the heat, the 2013 and 2014 winter has been a bust.
According to meteorologist Robert Molleda at the National Weather Service in Miami, numbers show the winter in Miami has been warmer than normal for three years in a row now. In fact, meteorologists said this was the third warmest winter on record in Miami.
Temperatures were two to four degrees above normal.
Meteorologists said a stronger-than-normal high pressure area in the middle-levels of the troposphere that extended into the North Atlantic to Florida was the main reason behind the mild winter.
For Fort Lauderdale and Naples, this was the 9th warmest winter on the books and West Palm Beach had the 10th warmest on record, said climate experts.
Overall, the 2013-2014 winter was slightly warmer than the 2012-2013 winter season.
- At Miami International Airport, December and February were in the top 5 warmest on record. The lowest temperature for the winter was 46 degrees on two days in January. The highest temperature was 86 degrees on four different dates. Four days were below 50 degrees and 56 days were 80 degrees or warmer.
- At Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, December and February were also in the top 5 warmest on record. The lowest winter temperature was 43 degrees. The highest was 88 degrees on February 26th. Six days were below 50 degrees and 46 days were 86 degrees or warmer.
A positive note, some parts of Southeastern Florida saw more rain than usual.
The numbers revealed it was the seventh wettest winter on record for West Palm Beach and eighth wettest for Miami Beach.
Hialeah had the fourth wettest winter and to round out the list, The Redland saw the sixth wettest.
However, it was not as moist across Alligator Alley where Naples experienced the 28th driest winter on record.
It appears the warm patter will continue through May. However, the first half of the month of March could see temperature swings from cool to warm.