Tampa, Florida, hits 100°F for the first time in 135 years of records

Folks in Tampa, Florida, endured the city’s hottest day in weather history on Sunday when the temperature at Tampa International Airport reached 100°F at 3:30 p.m. local time. 

The feat arrived as a long-duration heat event roasted much of the eastern United States—with a strong focus on the southeast. Charlotte, North Carolina, for instance, hit 101°F on Saturday, 102°F on Sunday, and they were well on their way to the triple-digits as of this post on Monday afternoon. 

A multi-day heat event isn’t unusual for this part of the country during the heart of summer. But it unusual for folks on the Florida peninsula—especially right on the water—to reach the century mark. 

Tampa’s previous all-time record high temperature was 99°F set on both June 26, 2020, and June 5, 1985. Weather records in the city date back to April 1, 1890, threaded across various locations. The main observation station has been at the Tampa International Airport since February 1, 1939, and the station currently sits about 2,800 feet from the waters of Tampa Bay. 

One of the big questions I’ve seen in the wake of this 135-year-old weather record is “why is the all-time high temperature so low?”

After all, plenty of cities to the north hit 100 degrees at least once or twice per summer. Washington’s all-time high temperature is 105°F. Boston hit 103°F back in July 2011. 

It’s (almost) all in the humidity. Exceptionally muggy air bathes Florida for most of the year. Air rich with water vapor resists heating up just as it resists cooling down at night. This mugginess moderates how high temperatures can rise on a steamy Florida afternoon, limiting how high the mercury can rise even during a formidable heat wave.

Another major factor at play on Sunday was the wind direction. Tampa Bay is west of the airport’s weather station. Winds on Sunday afternoon were blowing out of the north and northeast—so instead of a cooling sea breeze, they were feeling light winds travelling over land instead of the cooler waters nearby. 

It’s worth pointing out that the low temperature only dipped to about 84°F on Sunday night and Monday morning. As much as humidity limits how hot an afternoon can grow, it also limits how much conditions can cool off at night. (I just recorded a segment for The Weather Network about this!) 

Climate change is making matters worse. Warming temperatures combined with rising humidity have already led to muggier and more uncomfortable nights. The Tampa area has seen nighttime low temperatures rise more than 4 degrees since the 1970s, according to Climate Central.