New research claims St. Louis summers will regularly see heat indexes above 125 degrees in the next 30 years. First Street Foundation says its peer-reviewed models show an "extreme heat belt" settling over the South and Midwest, with St. Louis right in the red-hot center.
But KMOX meteorologist Dave Murray says our region's sweaty climate actually keeps extreme heat at bay.
"One of the reasons why a lot of sections of Florida don't get above 100 degrees is because of the humidity is extreme," Murray said. "The only way you can get extreme temperatures in St. Louis is a west-to-southwest flow, which is a dry, desert-type flow. That leaves a lot of questions in my mind about how they're trying to develop this."
The non-profit also predicts regular air temperatures will get hotter, too. Currently, St. Louis County has about a week of temperatures above 108. By 2053, that could jump to 21 days. First Street provides risk assessment data to private industry.
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