Florida reached late August still wearing a drought map in the middle of its rainy season, an August sight federal monitors called “extremely unusual”

Extreme heat and persistent drought defined much of Florida’s summer in 2026. Normally, drought conditions disappear during the summer months due to daily thunderstorms, tropical moisture, and weekly rainstorms.

However, this past summer was different.

As August came to a close, drought conditions remained across parts of the state.

In many areas, dry conditions persisted during one of the wettest times of the year.

Federal drought monitors stated that conditions in Florida at the end of August were extremely unusual.

Florida’s hot and dry summer left a growing rainfall deficit

Florida’s meteorological summer saw extraordinary warmth throughout much of the state. Miami reached an all-time tying high temperature of 100°F on Aug. 18, marking only the second time on record that the city has hit triple digits.

In addition to tying that historic milestone, Miami also matched 2023 as its hottest summer on record with an average temperature of 85.6°F.

Farther north, Orlando had its second-warmest summer in more than 130 years of weather records.

In addition to being very warm, the heat was paired with a surprising lack of rainfall.

Although summer is normally Florida’s rainy season, many areas finished the season well below normal rainfall totals. Some areas finished the season almost 15 inches short of their average precipitation totals.

Tampa, Tallahassee and Jacksonville were just a few of the major cities that suffered from significant rainfall deficiencies.

However, Pensacola stood out as one of the few major cities that finished the season with a surplus.

A rare calendar quirk also stretched the unofficial summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day across 106 days, the longest possible span between the two holidays.

Drought conditions persisted during the peak of the wet season

The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that drought conditions existed in various areas of Florida even as much of the rest of the state entered into the peak period of the wet season. Throughout North Florida, the Treasure Coast and South Florida, heat persisted along with a weaker-than-average sea-breeze pattern contributing to dry conditions in these regions.

The National Drought Summary revealed that the amount of drought in Florida at the end of August was unusually high due to wet-season rains failing to completely eliminate moisture deficits that developed earlier in the year.

South Florida was particularly dry. Rainfall totals in some areas of the region were between 5 and 15 inches below normal. Extreme Drought (D3) continued to exist throughout portions of the southern Everglades until the end of summer.

The drought also led to other issues such as increased risk of fires, stress on vegetation, and water resources.

Several lightning-sparked fires burned for long periods of time, with some lasting for weeks.

Heat and low rainfall levels placed additional strain on both plant life and water supplies during what should be a wet season.

Forecasters expect heat to remain an important factor

While drought conditions continue to persist in Florida, other areas of the South experienced severe drought caused by excessive heat. Temperatures reached or exceeded 100°F each week across much of the South, including 110°F readings near the Texas-Oklahoma border.

The current drought outlook indicates that heat will remain an issue going forward.

The current federal drought outlook indicates that continued drought reduction is the most likely outcome across the Southeast, though pockets of lingering dryness may ease only slowly in parts of Florida.

Although Florida’s rainy season continues, summer rainfall alone was not enough to erase drought conditions this year. For much of the state, the story of summer 2026 was not just a matter of record-breaking heat.

It was an unusual combination of excessive warmth and scarce rainfall that allowed drought conditions to persist during what is normally one of the wettest times of the year.

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