Florida's summer heat is lingering into the fall, following a national trend

You may have noticed the summer heat is lingering around.

The high for the Tampa area Thursday and Friday is expected to reach 90 degrees. And an analysis shows summertime temperatures are arriving earlier and staying later.

Using data from the National Weather Service between 1970 and 2024, the nonprofit Climate Central reported that out of 246 major cities, 92% had lingering summer heat into the fall.

Across Florida, summer heat has generally been extended by about a week and a half to two weeks.

Meteorologist Shel Winkley calls it "summer creep."

"Let's take the city of Tampa, right? What used to be a general last day around 90 degrees at the tail end of September has now actually been shoved back a full month," he said.

On average, Tampa has added 28 extra days of summer-like t