***Update: Just after this article was published, Tampa reached 100 degrees for the very first time at the airport location. You can find more details here.***
Tampa, Fla. (WFLA) — It’s a milestone that continues to elude Tampa: 100 degrees.
Even in today’s record-breaking heat, the official weather station at Tampa’s airport hit 99°, falling just shy of the triple-digit temperature that has never been officially documented in the city’s 134-year climate record.
This afternoon’s scorching high of 99° shattered not one but two records:
- The daily record for July 27th, previously 97° set back in 1996
- And the monthly record for July, breaking the old mark of 98° set on July 20 and 21 in 1942
This high temperature matches Tampa’s all-time peak, a mark only set twice before—on June 26, 2020, and June 5, 1985.
That means since weather records began on April 1, 1890, Tampa has officially hit 99 degrees just three times (one of those three being today)—but never 100.
Tampa’s uniquely warm and humid climate, moderated by sea breezes from both the Gulf and Tampa Bay, tends to cap our high temperatures just shy of triple digits. While the heat index (or “feels-like” temperature) can soar well above 100°, the actual air temperature stubbornly refuses to cross the century mark.
Chief Meteorologist and Climate Specialist Jeff Berardelli explained why it is difficult to hit the 100-degree mark at the airport:
“It’s true. Tampa has never reached 100 – at the airport, which is the official reporting site. But why? It’s a combination of 3 factors. The airport is very close toNorthh Tampa Bay, so it is influenced more heavily by the water. The sea breeze kicks in often cooling temps right before a threshold is reached. Also the breeze off the Bay spreads extra humidity in. Moist air is harder to heat than dry air. Lastly, if all that fails, typically you’ll get a rainy season thunderstorm overhead or nearby to cool it down. All told, Tampa has never hit the century mark. But most other Florida sites -especially ones away from the water have.”
“Typically, the hottest days in the Bay Area are days when there is a strong easterly wind and lower than normal humidity. Those two factors coinciding are more common in late spring and very early summer, which is why most of the hottest days in the Bay Area happen in early July or before,” Berardelli also explains.
With heat records falling more frequently in recent years, the question remains: Will Tampa ever hit 100°? It hasn’t happened yet—but as today proves, we’re inching closer than ever.
