An unprecedented run of record heat and humidity is suffocating population centers along the Gulf Coast, tied to water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico that have climbed to the highest levels ever observed.
The extra-hot waters are of particular concern with the approach of the peak weeks of hurricane season, which forecasters now say will be busier than normal.
It’s so hot and humid in Louisiana that Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) declared a state of emergency across all of its parishes late Monday. A spike in heat-related emergency room visits, growing drought, and the relentless swelter were cited as rationale for the declaration.
The heat extends across the entire Gulf Coast. Both Houston and New Orleans posted their hottest periods ever observed over the last week, while most locations in Florida are experiencing their hottest August on record.
Heat alerts on Tuesday stretched from South Texas to Florida before swelling north into the Carolinas and Southeast Virginia. About 27 million people are under excessive heat warnings, with an additional 60 million under heat advisories.
Through midweek, the most dangerously hot conditions are forecast from the Central Texas coast through Louisiana and southern Mississippi and over parts of the Florida Panhandle.
Heat indexes in coastal Louisiana are forecast to reach 110 to 120 degrees Tuesday before briefly stepping back. But the break won’t last too long in New Orleans and many other cities along the Gulf Coast.
This week opened up with an eruption of record highs and record warm nighttime lows all along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida.
In addition to a slew of calendar records, several all-time highs were set Monday, including 108 degrees in Alexandria, La. (tied with one other year), and 100 degrees in Tampa (at the National Weather Service office, where records date to 1976). August high-temperature records of 103 and 108 degrees were set in New Iberia, La., and Natchitoches, La., respectively.
Houston and College Station in Texas were among several locations that posted their hottest week ever observed, with average temperatures of 92.3 and 94.7 degrees, respectively. New Orleans also just finished its hottest seven-day stretch and has set record highs on 12 straight days (through Aug. 14).
