Conventional Wisdom: August heat in Tampa Bay

Conventional Wisdom Facts, features and fodder for RNC Tampa from local experts at the Tampa Bay Times [Sixth in a series] Cool facts about our August Heat RNC. Tampa. Late August. It's all adding up to a bit of angst about how people attending the Republican National Convention are going to cope with the oppressive heat during that week. It's not a minor matter, either. Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. On average, excessive heat claims more lives each year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. We're taking a closer look as part of our series of graphics related to the convention. 73° Why it's HOT here Approximate angle of the sun in New York City at Saudi Arabia noon on June 22, the Egypt summer solstice. Morocco 27 58'N Tampa 85° Latitude where Tampa is located. Draw an imaginary line around the globe and you'll see it crosses through Morocco, Egypt and Approximate angle of the sun in Central Florida, same date, same time. The higher the sun, the more it is able to heat. Saudi Arabia. The heat is ON 3-5pm Hottest part of the day 98 The record high temperature in August, on Aug. 22, 1975. 100 89.2 80 7:07am Average high tem- perature for August. 7:57pm Sunrise on Aug. 27, Sunset that 83.2 opening day of the same day. 4 convention Average tempera- ture for August. 12:50 Minutes shaved off that sunset time by 76 Hours of daylight in the convention's last Average temperature at night in Tampa during August. It makes us No. 4 in that category, behind Phoenix (81), Las Vegas (78) and Miami (77) Tampa Bay that day day, Aug. 30. But not like this 158 134 Temperature at which an egg becomes firm, according to the Library of Congress. (But don't try to fry it on pavement; a car hood is better.) North America's highest tem- perature ever recorded, at Death Valley, Calif., on July 10, 1913 at Greenland Ranch. You+Heat 2weeks 95 Amount of time humans Outside temperature at need to adjust to drastic changes in temperature. which body's inner core begins to rise. 90 to 95 48 Percentage of blood being pumped to the skin to create The ambient temperature of normal skin. perspiration. 150 Heart rate when that 104 Internal temperature at which the body begins to exhibit symptoms of heat stroke, including shallow breathing, confusion and unconsciousness. happens. The rest of the organs (e.g. brain, muscles) operate on half the blood normally needed. Cognitive thinking skills suffer, and emotions such as anger and com- bative behavior can occur. Sticky notes Relative Humidity (%) °F (40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 110 136 108 130 137 106 124|130 137 104 119 124 131 137 O 102 114 119 124 130 137 100 109 114 118 124 129136 98 105 109 113 117 123 128 134 96 101 104 108 112 116 121 126 a 4 97 100lt Heat Index (Apparent Temperature) High humidity makes people feel hotter outside in the summer because it reduces the effective- ness of sweating to cool the body by preventing the evaporation of perspiration from the skin. 94 96 99 10110 97 100 103 90 91 | 93 95 89 91 | 93 65% to90% 88 8 86 85 87 83 89 84 83 84 85 86 92 94 The range of relative humidity in Tampa in August. 82 81 | 82 83 86 88 89 85 86 86 87 105 to 110 60% The point at which humans start feeling uncomfortable (too wet); below 25 The heat index, or combina- tion of heat and humidity, at which the National Weather Service issues heat alerts. percent is too dry. 83 + 63 90 + 90 humidity percentage average high temperature humidity percentage average temperature 387 =122 The resulting average heat index for Tampa. The resulting heat index based on average high. Relief is near $40,000 Cost to Tampa to ship the water, which is being donated. 10 slations, normaly Number of misting stations, normally used for hurricane relief, being borrowed by the Hillsborough Health Department to cool pro- testers and police officers, as well as police dogs and horses. 400,000 Number of bottles of water Tampa is receiving to ease heat concerns. It will be served in paper cups, 2 to 4 though. That equals 50,000 Number of misting stations protesters would get from that allotment. gallons of water. one last cold fact to leave 1977 you feeling refreshed Year that the last measurable snow fell on Tampa, Jan. 19. The accumulation amounted to all of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) Compiled by Pat Farnan and Anne Glover, with research by Natalie Watson. Heat chart from Tampa Bay Times NOAA. Graphic by Lee Glynn | Times Photos: NASA, Google Earth tampabay.com