Sunny and Warm !!!

Sunny and warm with a temperature of 84 degree, but it feels like 88!!!!! South Florida has three different air masses that affect the weather in the Sunshine state; maritime tropical, continental tropical and continental polar. An air mass is a large body of air of relatively similar temperatures and humidity characteristics covering thousand of square kilometers. Typically, air masses are classified according to the characteristics of their source region.

Source sites and movement patterns for

North America's major air masses. (1)

Maritime Tropical

So much for winter....this depicts a weak front stalled over Lake Okeechobee. High pressure drifts south providing heat and humidity that brings in the south by southwest winds. This transports a tropical air mass to the south Florida area. (2)

Continental Polar 

Does the cold Canadian air mass really dip as far south as Florida??? Absolutely. Back in mid-February this high pressure produced temperatures in the low 40's. (2)

                                       Continental Tropical
Continental tropicals source region is the desert south west, the high plains and Mexico. The boundary of the Continental tropical is most notable with the creation of a Darline. The dry line separates the maritime tropical air from the continental air. Depending on the strength, convergence along the dry line and the dynamics above the dry line can create the the 'severe thunderstoms' that south Florida experiences.

South Florida experiences mid-latitude cyclones as well as subtropical hurricanes. Represented below in the Robinson projection. (3)

Many factors affect the climate in south Florida. The fact that no point in the state is more than 60 miles from salt water, has a latitude of 26 degrees north and is only 345 feet above sea level attributes to the tropical climate.The proximity to the ocean along with the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico creates a uniform seasonal weather pattern for Florida. Numerous inland lakes and the mass area of the Florida Everglades aids in holding heat and maintaining the steamy, humid climate. Additionally, just as climate determines the type of vegetation in a given region, vegetation can contribute to a region's weather. The more trees and plant, the more water vapor in the atmosphere, thus creating a tropical paradise for all to enjoy.

 

The Florida Everglades

The everglades, also known as 'the river of grass',  covers

some 11,000 square miles of land in south Florida. (4)

  

 1)www,physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7rhtml

 2)http;//www.wsvnnews.com/weather/blog/posts/mI94374   

 3)NWS Jet Stream-North American Masses

 4)www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-05-30-everglades-global