Florida ocean water just hit a 'boiling' 97 degrees. That's bad for several reasons.

Beach in Florida amid record heat wave
(Image credit: Giorgio Viera / AFP via Getty Images)

Everything is hot in Florida this week: The weather, inflation, beach sand, and somewhat alarmingly, the ocean water as well. Surface ocean temperatures around the Florida keys hit a "downright shocking" 92 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend, meteorologist Bob Henson marveled Sunday. "That's boiling for them!" agreed Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist and climate specialist at WFLA-TV in Tampa. "More typically it would be in the upper 80s."

On Monday evening, water temperatures off Johnson Key came close to 97 degrees (36.1 degree Celsius). That reading was in shallow water, but "the water temperatures are 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit around much of Florida, which is extremely warm," University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy told The Associated Press. He told The Washington Post the ocean temperatures off Florida have hit "bona fide bathtub conditions that we rarely see."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.