On Monday, the mercury soared to a toasty 96.2 degrees, just 0.4 of a degree lower than Sunday’s 96.8, which rounded off to 97. Today’s high is expected to be near 95 degrees.
Chief Meteorologist Basil Dean told The Guardian that the reason such high temperatures were experienced at the weekend (Saturday was 94.0) was because of a southwest airflow οΎ— a flow that is warmer than the east to southeast trade winds that the entire country usually experiences during summer.
“The all-time high for New Providence was 97.7 (recorded on June 6, 1988), and the previous all-time high for the month of July was 95.4 degrees. And that was eclipsed on Sunday with 96.8,” he said.
He added that afternoon temperatures were expected to cool (relatively) to the usual 90 to 92 degrees by the weekend.
Explaining the southwest vs southeast air flow, forecast officer Jeffrey Greene said, “South-westerly winds are normally warmer because it is air over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
“But the air is drying out now from the moisture we had a couple of days ago so that would provide some relief. When you have a lot of moisture, because of the heat index, you actually feel hotter.”
Most U.S. states have been experiencing near-record or record temperatures over the past week. St Louis and Kansas City Missouri have both experienced triple digit temperatures. On Sunday, Chicago Illinois recorded 104 degrees at its Midway Airport, just two degrees shy of the all-time high of 106 degrees in that mid-western city. Chicago’s heat has reportedly been blamed for causing three deaths.
Sahara dust cloud
Mr Greene also said a dust cloud from the Sahara Desert in Africa was presently over The Bahamas and Caribbean region, stretching as far north as Florida.
He explained that the dust cloud was a natural phenomenon that usually causes a reduction in visibility. At worst, the cloud can carry pollutants thousands of miles away from its source country.
Mr Greene recalled a period several years ago when the cloud covered The Bahamas causing a sharp increase in the number of conjunctivitis (pink eye) cases. Many people with the highly-contagious viral infection were asked to remain home and to keep a safe distance from others.
Fortunately, the forecaster said, this time the dust cloud, which could linger in the region for several days, appears to be harmless. “It’s just like air so you really won’t feel anything,” he said.
Portions of the cloud are already being sucked into the wind vortices of Tropical Storm Franklyn which was a few hundred miles southwest of Bermuda Monday.
By MINDELL SMALL, Nassau Guardian Staff Reporter
