ORLANDO, Fla. – You may have heard the saying, “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” or, “yeah, but it’s a dry heat.” There’s truth to both of those.
We are going to focus on the humid side because that is the personality of a Florida summer. That rich, soupy air you can wear.
Oftentimes in summer you hear meteorologists speak of the heat index. It’s not a made up number, it has meaning. That number combines both the actual air temperature and the dew point. The dew point is the most important number when it comes to your comfort.
When it’s high, upper 60s and especially 70s, that’s when it feels more oppressive. When the dew point is high, the heat index, or “feels like,” is higher.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Our body naturally cools itself by sweating so that the ambient air evaporating that sweat cools us down.
When there is higher humidity in the atmosphere, a higher dew point, sweat doesn’t evaporate as much and our body struggles to cool itself. Because there is not as much sweat evaporating, we feel hotter.
This is why paying attention to the heat index is critical during summer. Once the heat index climbs above 105, heat-related illnesses become more common.
Conversely, in the Desert Southwest it can actually feel cooler than the actual air temperature when it’s warm because the evaporative cooling process is so efficient because of the dry air.
At times, the heat index can be lower than the actual air temperature.
That’s where, “yeah, but it’s dry heat,” comes from. With that said, when actual air temperatures surge into the 110s and 120s out west routinely, that won’t make much of a difference.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: