Electric bills soared last summer as people in Florida and across the country tried to beat the heat.
The winter offered some relief, but if experts are right, this year could be even worse.
Karin Gleason is the Monitoring Section Chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Centers for Environmental Information.
She said 2023 was one for the record books.
“We saw not only record heat globally but by a significant margin compared to the prior record,” Gleason explained.
“In 2023 the globe measured 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the average. That is not only the highest, but the next highest, which was the former record year, was 2016, and we bested that amount by over a quarter of a degree Fahrenheit, which is really unheard of in the history of the global climate record,” said Gleason.
She said El Niño helped to drive up the temperatures and that increasing moisture in the air made it hotter at night and in the middle of the day.
Gleason said Florida also had near record-breaking heat and that it missed the record set in 2015 by just one-tenth of a degree Fahrenheit.
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The city of Orlando has also been facing a hot streak. Gleason said the last 9 years have been the warmest on record since 1985.
NOAA doesn’t just analyze the weather as it happens. Gleason said the organization is also able to look back on historic weather measurements and predict what will happen in the year ahead.
She said, “We do not anticipate 2024 being a cool year,” and that “there is a one in three chance, so about a 33% chance that 2024 will be warmer than 2023 and a 99% chance that 2024 will be one of the warmest five years on record.”
So, be prepared to keep cranking up your air conditioning and paying a bit extra for your electric bill.
To learn more about NOAA’s 2024 weather predictions check out Talk to Tom. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch any time on the News 6+ app for your smart tv.
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