Tampeños are used to living under our hot, wet towel of a climate. In fact, the heat index in Tampa today is 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But according to a new study, these heat waves are becoming much more commonplace.

According to recent reporting from USAfacts.org, data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that Tampa’s average heat wave season length has increased by 92 days since 1961. That’s slightly more than three months of the year where Tampa residents are dealing with heat wave level temperatures.

The EPA defines heat waves as a period of two or more days where the weather is “abnormally and uncomfortably hot” and “outside the historical averages for a given area.”

A heat wave season is the length of time between the first and last heat wave of a given year. When the EPA began tracking heat waves in the 1960s, the average heat wave season lasted about 24 days, now the national average is about 73 days.

Tampa’s 92 days ranked third overall for highest increases in season length, behind San Francisco (111 days) and New Orleans (103 days).

Other Florida cities included in the study are Miami (82 days) and Jacksonville (21 days).

According to the report, Tampa’s heat waves also last an average of two days longer than the national average from 1961.

This isn’t the first report to point out that Tampa is becoming a hotter and stickier place to live. Studies have shown that the warming climate, due to human activity, is making heat waves all over the planet more frequent and intense, and the summer of 2022 was no exception.

Last July was Tampa’s hottest month ever recorded, according to WUSF. Between June and July of 2022, the average daily temperature was 93 degrees, the highest average daily temperature since recording began in the 1890s.

It’s also worth pointing out that Tampa’s rising temperatures impact low income and non-white areas disproportionately. The idea that urban areas are hotter than rural ones is pretty well-known, but a recently published journal in Earth’s Future found that neighborhoods with more people of color and lower income people, were often 7 degrees warmer than whiter and wealthier areas.

This week, Tampa is seeing its hottest stretch of weather so far this year, with average highs expected to be in the lower-to-mid 90s. The hottest weather seen so far was 90 degrees on May 20, but according to WTSP, it’s not the heat we need to worry about, it’s the humidity.

When you factor humidity into the already higher temperatures expected to be seen in the next week, the heat index can be expected to feel like 100-105 degrees.

In high temperatures like these, heat illness is possible, and it’s important to be aware of how you can keep yourself safe. Stay hydrated, take frequent breaks when spending time outdoors, wear lightweight clothing, and do not forget your sunscreen.

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This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2023.