Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Miami, FL
Issued by NWS Miami, FL
528 NOUS42 KMFL 201539 PNSMFL FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-220000- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Miami FL 1140 AM EDT Thu Jun 20 2024 ...New, Experimental Heat Advisory and Excessive Heat Warning Criteria for Broward County... Beginning July 1st, the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Miami (WFO Miami) will test a change to the Heat Advisory and Excessive Heat Warning criteria for public forecast zones in Broward County. This change is in conjunction with the current pilot project in Miami-Dade County which has been in place since 2023. The new criteria for Broward County is better aligned with local climatology, as well as recent health data which indicate that significant health impacts from heat occur at heat index values lower than the current advisory/warning criteria. Broward County will now have the same heat advisory/excessive heat warning criteria as Miami-Dade County, which is as follows for each public zone in those counties: UGC Forecast Zone Number Weather Forecast Zone Name FLZ073 Inland Miami-Dade FLZ074 Metro Miami-Dade FLZ173 Coastal Miami-Dade FLZ174 Far South Miami-Dade FLZ071 Inland Broward FLZ072 Metro Broward FLZ172 Coastal Broward - Heat Advisory: Heat Index of 105F or higher for at least 2 hours - Excessive Heat Warning: Heat Index of 110F or higher for at least 2 hours The remaining WFO Miami public forecast zones below will continue with the existing heat advisory/excessive heat warning criteria (Advisory: Heat Index 108F or higher for at least 2 hours, Warning: Heat Index 113F or higher for at least 2 hours): UGC Forecast Zone Number Weather Forecast Zone Name FLZ063 Glades FLZ066 Hendry FLZ067 Inland Palm Beach FLZ068 Metro Palm Beach FLZ069 Coastal Collier FLZ070 Inland Collier FLZ075 Mainland Monroe FLZ168 Coastal Palm Beach The new, experimental criteria for Broward County, which will match the existing Miami-Dade County criteria, is based on local temperature climatology and frequency of heat index values at or above the newly defined criteria. The new criteria better aligns with the historical frequency of heat index values above the newly defined criteria, and is closer to heat index values at which significant health impacts from heat can occur. Evaluation of this experiment will take place during and after the 2024 heat season to determine if these changes will become official policy in future years for parts or all of the WFO Miami service area. For any questions, please contact: Robert Molleda, Meteorologist-in-Charge Robert.Molleda@noaa.gov, 305-229-4522 ext. 222 $$