HOW DO YOU BEAT THE HEAT?

We have had three straight record setting days of heat. I know summer and heat go hand and hand in Florida, but the extra humidity just pushes many of us over the edge.

Today I asked all of you to share your secrets for "Beating The Heat".

LeeAnn shared with me her tips of hanging out in the freezer aisle at the grocery store or watching the skaters practice at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy.

I know Mike Deeson loves floating in his pool after a hard days work in the heat.
Heather pulls her hair back in a pony tail and cools her neck.
Me....I toss some shorts and t-shirts into a bag and put them in the freezer and after spending some time outside I'll come in and throw on the cold clothes.....that spells relief.

I'd love it if you would share your tips here with us on the blog.
Stay cool and have a great Father's Day!
Tammie

RECORD HOT STREAK

Yikes! Today we reached 96 degrees at Tampa International Airport.
That tied the old record of 96 degrees set on June 17th in 1998.
It was also our 9th straight day of 90 degree plus weather.
Plus, the feels like temperature exceeded that by more than 10 degrees with a Heat Index of 105-110.

Normally we should see 89 as our high, so why are we above average.
Well, you can blame it on a ridge of high pressure settled in to our west.
It has kept the cooler air and organized storm conditions to our north across the Plains, the Mid West and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
In fact as I write this Blog there is a significant severe weather and tornado outbreak occurring across 18 states to the north. All of that is along the line separating the cool and hot weather.

I've spoken to friends "Up North" and they are disappointed at the dismal start to summer in their area. Temperatures from Minneapolis to New York have been below average with many cloudy and rainy days.
Hearing that I realize our heat and humidity isn't so bad.
I guess we should be careful what we wish for.

We have seen storms form each day on the sea breeze, but the westerly component to the wind has kept many of the storms away from the Gulf Coast as they fire up further inland.

You can expect this pattern of heat and humidity will continue through Father's Day on Sunday.
coincidentally that is also the first day of summer. Although I'm sure you'll agree it's been feeling summer-like for some time now.

I'd love you to share your secrets to keeping cool. You can do that right here on my blog.
In turn, I'll try to share some of them on air.
Have a great week,
Tammie

JUNE IS LIGHTNING AWARENESS MONTH

Most Of You May Know The Bay Area Is The Lightning Capital Of North America, But Did You Know It Is Also The Leading Weather Related Killer In Florida?

June Is Lightning Awareness And Safety Month.

Below Are Some Things You Should Know.

Lightning is The #2 Weather Related Killer In The U.S.

It kills more people than Hurricanes and Tornadoes combined.

Flooding is the #1 Weather Related Killer In The U.S.

A Bolt Of Lightning Is Hotter Than The Surface Of The Sun And Less Than 1" Wide.

The ‘30-30 Rule’

When You See Lightning, Count The Time Until You Hear Thunder.

If That Is 30 Seconds Or Less, The Thunderstorm Is Close Enough To Be Dangerous

Seek Shelter And Wait 30 Minutes Or More After The Lightning Flash Before Leaving Shelter.
Lightning Kills About 100 People In The U.S. Each Year!
Lightning Injures About 1,000 People In The U.S. Each Year!

The Odds Of Being A Lightning Casualty In The U.S. Is About 280,000-To-One Per Year.

Or About 3,000-To-One Over Your Lifetime.

In Florida The Odds Are Closer To 80,000-To-One Per Year Of Being Struck.

Or About 1,000-To-One In A Lifetime.

The Safest Place To Be During A Thunderstorm Is Inside A Sturdy Building, Away From The Windows.

Another Safe Place Is A Metal Frame Automobile With A Hard Top And Windows Rolled Up.

VISIT OUR NEW WEATHER SITE

On Tuesday June 2nd we launched FORECASTFIRST.COM
It's our brand new weather web site.
Now, it's still in the early stages and we are making some adjustments and adding more content, but we wanted to get this launched for the summer storm season and of course for hurricane season.

It's an interactive weather site and when completely finished we hope it will be your one-stop-shop for weather and environmental topics. With live radar, a chat, specialized graphics, forecasts, current conditions, live cameras, news stories, marine information, weather facts, safety tips and weather tools for you.

Double Doppler will always be live on the home page for you to check any time of the day or night.
Next to Double Doppler there is a live weather chat room. We hope during storms and weather events you will join the chat to share your comments, questions and storm reports.
There is also an interactive zoom radar map that you control.
Plus, a complete tropical page.

The entire weather team helped to create the new site.
It has been a personal labor of love since I arrived last October.
Dan Trotter of our web team and Bobby Deskins of the weather team deserve special thanks for all of their extra effort.

We invite your feedback and suggestions. The site will still be evolving over the next few months.

Have a great week,
Tammie Souza