Summer 2026 will officially go down as the hottest on record in parts of South Florida.
In its season wrap-up Tuesday, the National Weather Service’s Miami office said prolonged days of high temperatures led Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to experience their hottest meteorological summers on record. Miami tied its record, set in 2023.
For that, South Florida can mostly blame El Niño, the meteorologists said.
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The weather pattern, which this year is also expected to hit record intensity, can lead to prevailing strong subtropical high pressure around Florida and the Caribbean. "This prevented prolonged periods of tropical moisture from affecting South Florida for long periods of time," the Service said.
In other words, with no rain temperatures soared.
Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airports, where temperatures are monitored, averaged 1.9 degrees above their 30-year averages. In West Palm Beach, airport temps reached 2.5 degrees above average.
The number of hot days also fell well above average. Miami experienced 83 days at or above 90 degrees, compared to 64 days during a normal year. Fort Lauderdale recorded 78 days, nearly double what's normal. West Palm saw 81 days - again well above the normal of 55.
Drought conditions that have hung around since winter helped fuel the heat.
"A dry summer usually results in a hotter than normal summer, and 2026 certainly stands out in that respect," the summary said.
Rainfall across all of South Florida was anywhere from five inches to 15 inches below normal, with many places landing among the top ten driest summers on record. The Keys received less than half its normal summer rain.
While the meteorological summer, which runs from June to August, ended this week, forecasters said don’t expect any relief soon. The summer heat and humidity will likely last through October.
