Historic Florida Heatwave

Florida cities break century-old heat records during the hottest summer in history

Florida experienced one of its top 10 warmest summers on record, with several major cities breaking century-old heat benchmarks. The record heat was influenced by a strong El Niño, which created high pressure and reduced cooling rain showers. Other factors contributing to the high temperatures included Saharan dust and persistent westerly winds. South Florida experienced numerous heat advisories due to high humidity making temperatures feel even hotter. West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale both broke summer heat records dating back over 100 years with averaged temperatures about 2.4 degrees warmer than normal. In southeast Florida, daily average temperatures from June through August soared to No. 1 in the history books. This year's El Nináo is forecast to grow to a “historic event” that could surpass the strength of previous El Nionos dating back to 1950.