Florida Waters Reach 98°, Dangerous Hurricane Fuel

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Timeline of Main Events

• 1950-2016: Florida experiences an increase of approximately 25 extreme rain events annually.
• 1970-2020: Tide gauge observations are recorded to estimate sea-level rise rates for the eastern Gulf Coast.
• 1982-Present (implied up to Nov 2024): Storm tracks in the Atlantic basin are recorded in the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship database.
• 1985-Present (implied up to Nov 2024): Marine heat wave data becomes available and is recorded.
• 1990s: Widespread marine heat waves spanning hundreds of miles begin to be recorded.
• 2006-2015: Florida experiences a decade without a single hurricane strike.
• 2017: Hurricane Harvey strengthens from a tropical depression into a Category 4 hurricane in two days before striking the Texas coast. This year also marks the beginning of an eight-year streak of major Gulf landfalls.
• 2017: Hurricane Irma hits the Gulf Coast with ferocious intensity.
• 2022: Hurricane Ian's wind speeds nearly double in roughly 22 hours before the storm makes landfall in Southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming the costliest hurricane in state history.
• 2023: Hurricane Idalia ravages the Big Bend area of Florida with a 10-foot storm surge.
• 2023: A severe coral bleaching event occurs in Florida, leading to significant coral mortality and prompting NOAA to extend their severity scale.
• 2023: Daily average sea temperatures at Buoy Key, Florida, reach their highest May levels in documented history.
• 2024: Atypical heat continues in the Caribbean throughout the year.
• October 2024: Hurricane Milton strengthens from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 24 hours as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula.
• October 2024: Hurricane Milton's historic rain floods inland neighborhoods in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, including Clearwater and parts of North Tampa, with up to 17 inches of rain in five hours. Stormwater pumps fail in some areas.
• May 2025: More than 4,000 daily record high temperature reports occur across the United States, more than double the number of record lows.
• Early May 2025: A deadly Mid-Atlantic atmospheric river occurs, fueled by increased moisture from the marine heat wave.
• May 24, 2025: Sea temperatures near Buoy Key, Florida, reach 98 degrees Fahrenheit.
• May 25, 2025 (last weekend before May 29): Ocean temperatures near 98 degrees are recorded by a buoy in Everglades National Park.
• May 26, 2025 (last Sunday before May 29): Houston sets a new overall monthly record low overnight temperature of 82 degrees.
• May 27, 2025 (last Monday before May 29): Fort Lauderdale, Florida, records a low of 82 degrees, a record for May.
• May 29, 2025: Golf ball-size hail pummel Austin, Texas.
• May 30, 2025 (Last Thursday before May 31): Tampa experiences an 80-degree low temperature, its hottest May morning on record (since 1890). Downpours are expected from Louisiana to Georgia.