ORLANDO, Fla. – Can you feel it? Fall has arrived! OK, we are just coming off one of the hottest two months in recorded history in Central Florida. It is understandable if you are not ready to celebrate fall and go for the pumpkin spice latte but by meteorological terms, September is the beginning of fall.
The Autumnal Equinox will arrive later on Sept. 22 at 9:04 p.m.
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This week on Forecasting Change, we look at our warming fall season.
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The graphic below shows how much the entire country has increased fall temperatures since 1970. The increase for the U.S. is 2.7 degrees.
This warming has lead to more “Warm Fall Days.” Since 1970, 74% of American cities have gained at least seven additional days above normal. Here in Orlando, we are in step with the addition of six days of warmer than normal temperatures in the same period.
Since 1970, our fall temps have been on a gradual climb. You can see that year to year the results are up and down. But the overall climb resembles an incline that has moved the warm up more than a full degree.
This increase in hot days leads to more stress on plants, more pests like ticks and mosquitoes, and contributes to bad air quality.
Try to keep these numbers and effects in mind when you hear the term “global warming.”
On the surface, the warming might not look overly impressive to you. But the effects are already happening. And the time to address the solutions is now.
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