Last Day of School Sizzles & I Do Have A Long-Range Forecast that Will Cool You Down

The excitement is in the air! We are not just talking about the unusually fast-moving air molecules that are causing our thermometers to almost burst. It is the last day of school today for many kids. My daughter Abbey is seen in green here and I wanted to thank her fourth grade teacher April Doughtry for sending this my way. I hope all the kids have a fun and safe summer. There will be plenty of fun in that hot sun today. We had a heat index up to 90 degrees by 10 a.m. The old saying is, "it's not the heat but the humidity". Well this UNF graduate and meteorologist that knows Florida weather knows better. The way we say it here on the First Coast is that it "it is the heat and humidity" that will cause you to work up a good sweat just walking to your car.

Here is a pictue of my last trip to the bus stop this year. I am very proud of how wonderful Megan and Abbey adjusted to their new schools and state of Florida. It went much better than I thought possible. I thank them for having an open mind and making the best of this move. This adventure we call life takes unexpected twists and turns but no matter what happens or where you live it is all about staying close to your family and God. We also have a great support network of friends stretching from Florida to Indiana. Our Indiana friends are in fact life-long friends and I cannot thank them enough. I also love hearing from my weather watchers and loyal bloggers.

Speaking of Indiana, here is a nice picture sent in from Richard in Attica, Indiana. These clouds are called turkey towers. They are among some of my favorite clouds. I name these towering cumulus clouds turkey towers because they can make meteorologists look like turkeys if they call for thunderstorms in the forecast. They are a sign of the atmosphere not quite having enough moisture or instability to allow these towers to grow into thunderheads or cumulonimbus clouds. Now over the next few days in Indiana do not expect to see turkey towers but the real thing. Look for more thunderstorms and some of them could once again be on the strong side. Thanks Richard! Here in Florida we will be lucky so see any clouds whatsoever today.

This is all in response to a strong high pressure system with its anti-cyclonic circulation and its sinking air taking hold of the atmosphere. When you have sinking air you have plenty of heating this time of year and a lack of clouds or cooling storms as evidenced by this picture. Not a cloud can be find in the sky around the First Coast. Here is what it looked like in Downtown Jacksonville this morning. The sky was as blue as the Main Street Bridge. It may look picture-perfect but looks can be deceiving when it comes to all the heat nature is throwing at us.

I am going to stay cool by taking my girls to the pool once they get out of school and we will go get some shaved ice. If you are thinking about cutting your lawn and I know my lawn needs it after all of the rain, it would be smart to put it off until after 7 p.m. tonight when things start cooling down. The new updated forecast high for today is 95 degrees but it will feel like 100 to 105 in all of that heat and humidity. Nature's air conditioner which is the nice sea breeze we are used to this time of year will not hit the beaches until late afternoon and will likely not make it to Interstate 95 as a west wind continues to hold it back at near 10 mph. The beaches have been unsually cool and stormy like the rest of us and they are going to have their first 90s of the year as a result over the next several days.

Now if you are heading to the beach for some relief from the heat you will have to actually get in the water and swim or surf like my daughters to stay cool. Water temperatures are still in the comfortable middle 70s. One thing you do not want to do is to suntan in this weather. Once you develop a sunburn your body quickly loses its ability to cool itself down. Then you add in the scorching sunshine and high humidity and it is a very bad combination. We have a burn time of only 10 minutes today. Make sure to apply and reapply that sunscreen and do it before you get to the pool or beach or it will already be too late!

Here is my ravishing wife Julie laying out in the sun a couple weeks ago. When we go to the beach as a family this weekend I will make sure everybody has on SPF 30 or higher and make sure we have a beach tent or umbrella for all of us to eat our lunch under. I know a lot of folks love this hot stuff and take the heat in stride but it is always good to be reminded of a few common sense ways to help make sure you can enjoy this weather to the fullest without getting a nasty sunburn, dehyrdrated, or worse yet a heat stroke. It really is the first heat wave of the year and now we are ready to have some fun in the sun.

Now if you are a fan of cooler weather and need a forecast to help cool you down even if the 90s will not break until later next week. I will let you know why I think we will have less 90 degree days than average this year and the latest on the El Nino and tropics. Here are your updated forecast numbers and you ten day forecast which is a full three hours sooner than you can get anywhere else. Most folks are on the go this time of year and do not have time to sit in front of the TV. Well you finally have a place you can always come to for your local forecast with always more than a lemon twist. Just wait wait until we start the video forecasts. :) I will check in with you this evening to help cool you down. Happy SUMMER!!! Thanks for reading.