A middling overnight cooldown and unlikely afternoon showers triggered another heat advisory for Palm Beach County on Wednesday, July 17 with temperatures that could feel as high as 109 degrees.
Sammy Hadi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said the heat index or “feels like” temperatures are borderline for an advisory in Palm Beach County but that it was warranted considering the low chances of cooling rains.
“Really, primarily it’s because we are in this persistent easterly flow, so we won’t have shower and thunderstorm activity,” Hadi said. “There is certainly a chance we will hit the criteria.”
In Palm Beach County, a heat advisory is issued when heat index temperatures are forecast to reach 108 degrees or higher for at least two hours. In Broward and Miami-Dade counties, a heat advisory is issued if heat index temperatures of 105 or higher are expected for at least two hours. Both Broward and Miami-Dade counties petitioned the National Weather Service for the lower thresholds, which will be evaluated before being made permanent.