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It's not just hot, it's record-breaking hot in Tampa Bay for the month of April

 
Children cool off at the Curtis Hixon Park fountains in Tampa. Saturday’s scorching heat broke records in Tampa Bay for the month of April, with the temperature at Tampa International Airport reaching 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
Children cool off at the Curtis Hixon Park fountains in Tampa. Saturday’s scorching heat broke records in Tampa Bay for the month of April, with the temperature at Tampa International Airport reaching 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
Published April 30, 2017

Saturday's scorching heat broke records in Tampa Bay for the month of April, with the temperature at Tampa International Airport reaching 96 degrees and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport recording 95 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

The high at Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg hit 91 degrees Saturday, just a degree away from its 2016 record of 92 degrees for the day.

Tampa's previous record high for April was 93 degrees in 1991. St. Pete-Clearwater's previous record high for the month, 94 degrees, was set just Friday.

"Basically, we had dry conditions with southeast winds. All that warm air was pulled in over the state and it wasn't being modified by the gulf or the Atlantic," said Ashley Batey, WTSP 10 News meteorologist.

Batey said the heat should ease somewhat by Monday, and Tuesday might bring rain.

"We're going to cool down a little, but it's still going to be pretty warm," said weather service meteorologist Andrew McKaughan.

Interior parts of Tampa Bay could still reach 94 and 95 today, he said, but most of the area should be in the lower 90s. As the week goes on, McKaughan said, expect temperatures to be in the upper 80s and lower 90s.

The weather service has recorded temperatures in Tampa since 1890. It began recording temperatures at St. Pete-Clearwater in 1998.

Times staff writer Charlie Frago contributed to this report. Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com. Follow @sara_dinatale.