Heat wave grips Jacksonville, Deep South, smashing records
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A scorching heatwave weeks before summer starts continues in the Deep South.
High temperatures were at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) on Sunday in Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina; Fayetteville and Wilmington in North Carolina; Savannah and Macon in Georgia; and Gainesville, Florida.
All those cities tied or broke daily records and several haven’t seen a hotter day in May since records were kept.
At Jacksonville International Airport on Monday, temperatures reached 100 degrees, breaking the daily record of 98 degrees and tying the all-time record high temperature set on May 13, 1967, the National Weather Service’s Jacksonville office reported.
The heat will continue at least through the middle of the week.
But National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Emlaw in Charleston says the record hot May doesn’t mean the whole summer will be unusually hot. One key to cooling things off would be heavy rains. Unfortunately, none are in the seven day forecast.