Summer afternoons in Florida are undoubtedly hot, but not quite as hot as they used to be, on average, in Sarasota.
A new analysis of the past three decades of temperatures shows Florida — especially Sarasota — bucking a pronounced warming trend nationwide.
At the Sarasota-Bradenton weather station, average high temperatures fell every month of the year and in some months by nearly two degrees. As a result, Sarasota's average high temperature for July will drop from 91.3 degrees to 89.8 degrees.
"It doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you integrate that over a whole year in terms of your heating bill or your crops, it really adds up," said Anthony Arguez, a physical scientist who managed the reanalysis of the nation's normal temperatures for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
While the state as a whole is barely warmer on average for the entire year, most of the nation has seen significant temperature increases in the past decade and over the past 30 years.
Nationwide, the month of January reflected some of the most dramatic changes. Some parts of the country saw average January low temperatures jump by more than two degrees. But in central Florida, January lows dropped about a degree.
Consistent with the rest of the nation, Sarasota's temperature at night is not dropping as much on average. The average overnight low for July in Sarasota will climb from 72.5 degrees to 75.
"Florida in general is not really seeing a lot of the patterns that the rest of the country is seeing," said Arguez.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110706/ARTICLE/110709744/0/FRONTPAGE?tc=ar
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