The National Weather Service continued a heat advisory today and on Friday in portions of South and Southwest Florida, the result of a more-than-weeklong spate of hot weather blanketing the state.
The weather service said that while regular high temperatures across much of Southwest Florida will range from the low to high 90s, the heat index values could go from 103 to 110 degrees, or more at localized sites. The advisory runs until 8 p.m. both days.
The continuing higher heat index numbers should extend into the weekend, forecasters say. A little extra moisture will lift over the area from a tropical wave, then merge with the moisture from the stalled frontal boundary and allow for the chance of rain rising from 40 to 60 percent into the weekend and early next week.
The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature. There is direct relationship between the air temperature and relative humidity and the heat index.
The forecast for today and tonight again includes isolated thunderstorms possible this afternoon over the interior areas of South Florida with the main hazards heavy downpours and lightning strikes.
The NWS said that heat index values in southern reaches of Southwest and South Florida will remain high throughout the week and into the weekend. These values will range between 105 and 110 each afternoon and early evening, with some localized areas having heat indices exceeding 110 degrees.
Areas impacted include Glades and Hendry counties, coastal and inland Collier County and most points directly east and south. Further north, into Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties, the heat index values could reach from 103 to 109 today and into Friday.
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