Pensacola likely to heat up in May after April's near-normal temperatures

Last year was the warmest year ever recorded on Earth , and Pensacola certainly wasn't an outlier. Temperatures in Pensacola were record-breaking , too, like in August when a 72-year-old record was broken for the highest mean maximum temperature, hitting 97.1 degrees, 1.7 degrees more than the old average.

Springtime in the Gulf Coast this year has been pretty par for the course so far. April saw temperatures close to normal . There were larger swings in the low temperatures, with a few days seeing lows between 47 and 51 degrees, a range below normal.

So, when is the heat supposed to hit the Pensacola area? This month, and this weekend was a good indicator of what we have to look forward to.

Last August: How hot was Pensacola this August? The hottest ever recorded, data says

Pensacola's April temps were relatively normal

The National Weather Service's (NWS) April 2024 climate summary for the Gulf Coast area showed that the average monthly high in Pensacola was 76.7, about 0.9 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, our average monthly temperature was 68.5, only 0.2 degrees above normal.

The highest temperature recorded in April was 82 degrees on April 20 and 25, which was 2 and 3 degrees above the normal daily high temperature for those days, respectively. The lowest temperature recorded was 47 degrees on April 4 and 5, 9, which was 10 degrees below the normal daily lows for those days.

Last July: Pensacola saw its hottest July ever — again — after tying with a 23-year-old record

April's top records for the month in the Pensacola area

• A high of 96 degrees occurred on April 22, 1987.
• A low of 33 degrees occurred on April 4, 1987.
• Highest one-day rainfall - 15.55" on April 29, 2014.
• Highest monthly record rainfall - 29.53" in 2014.
• Lowest monthly record rainfall - 0.06" in 1915.
• Highest monthly snowfall - Trace amounts in 2007.

Pensacola temperatures in May look to heat up

The NWS says that May temperatures along Southern states like Florida and Texas have higher probabilities for above-normal temperatures. A band that sweeps across the western tip of Texas through toward the southern tip of North Carolina shows a 40-50% chance of temps leaning above normal, while South Florida's chances are near 50-60%.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola likely to heat up in May after April's near-normal temperatures