Forecasters expect this to be the hottest December on record for Central Florida.
John Pendergrast of the National Weather Service in Melbourne explained the science behind the string of afternoon highs in the middle 80s. “We’ve had high pressure that has dominated the southeastern and eastern US and it has prevented any fronts from bringing us cooler weather,” he said. “That’s been the case for much of the last 30 to 45 days, so we’ve had a record-hot November and, it looks like, record-hot December as well.”
Pendergrast says Central Florida’s daytime temperatures normally hover near 71 degrees this time of year.
He expects a return to near-normal temperatures in early January, possibly this weekend.
The National Weather Service expects 2015 to be the hottest year overall since record-keeping began in 1892…not only for Central Florida and the state of Florida, but also across the globe.
