Florida's Record Hot Weather Fuels Michael's Deadly Winds

Hurricane Michael is drawing strength from abnormally warm water in the Gulf of Mexico following Florida’s hottest September on record.

“You are seeing the influence of record warm ocean temperatures to enable this,’’ said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an IBM company. “Water temperature in that part of the Gulf is 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.’’

Florida and six other states posted their warmest Septembers on record dating to 1895, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. The average monthly temperature was 82.3 degrees Fahrenheit (27.9 Celsius), or 3.2 degrees above the 20th century average.