East Central Florida - Tuesday September 5, 2023: While Florida summer months are typically hot and humid, August 2023 took this to an extreme.
Temperatures remained above normal through the month, with the heat and humidity during the day combining to produce elevated to at times extreme heat index values, and conditions remaining warm and muggy overnight. This led to numerous high and warm minimum temperature records being set or tied across the area, especially from the 7th through the 16th.
Average temperatures for the month were around 2 to 3 degrees above normal, and were one for the record books. It was not only the hottest August on record for Daytona Beach, Orlando and Vero Beach, but it was also the hottest month ever on record for these sites. All other primary climate sites across east central Florida were not too far behind, with August 2023 ranking either 2nd or 3rd warmest on record.
Scattered afternoon and evening showers and storms did continue into early August, but a strong ridge aloft then developed across the area, which decreased this activity from the 7th through the 15th and led to drier than normal conditions. Rainfall did pick back up again for a few days, but then a drier airmass moved into the area and led to well below normal rainfall toward the end of the month.
The exception was toward the last few days of August, where rain bands from Hurricane Idalia moved across the area, increasing precipitation across the region, especially along and just southeast
of the I-4 corridor. Overall though, rainfall for August 2023 generally ended up below normal for many sites.
Temperatures
Little relief was to be found from the heat in August 2023, with highs reaching into the 90s most days and lows often in the mid to upper 70s. A strong ridge aloft across the southern U.S. extended
eastward across Florida and lingered across the area from around the 7th through the 16th, which magnified the scorching temperatures.
Highs during this time rose as high as the mid to upper 90s, especially across the interior, with Sanford and Orlando actually reaching 100 degrees on the 11th and 12th respectively! For Sanford,
this tied for the warmest maximum temperature on record for August.
Numerous warm temperature records were reached, especially through this period during this first half of the month, with additional monthly extremes being set or tied. The high of 98 degrees on the 10th at Vero Beach tied for the highest maximum temperature on record in August for this location, and from the 8th to 10th, Sanford, Orlando and Fort Pierce each had lows as warm as 81
degrees, which was the highest minimum temperature on record for August at all these sites.
In addition to the hot temperatures during the day, humid conditions with dewpoints ranging from around 75 to 80 degrees, produced peak heat index values often reaching 105 to 110 and sometimes as high as 110 to 115. For the first time in the official history, Excessive Heat Warnings were issued for portions if not all of east central Florida at times from the 8th through the 13th for the more dangerous extreme heat index values.
Average temperatures for the month ended up around 84 to 86 degrees across the area, which were 2 to 3 degrees warmer than normal. This ranked August 2023 within the top 3 warmest on record at all sites, and for Daytona Beach, Orlando and Vero Beach it was not only the hottest August on record, but the hottest month ever on record. Vero Beach has a shorter period of record compared to the other two, going back to 1942, but Daytona and Orlando have temperature records extending back to 1923 and 1892, respectively, so this is quite notable.
Monthly average high temperatures were around 92 to 94 degrees (around 1.5 to 3 degrees above normal), and the average maximum temperature of 93.1 degrees at Daytona Beach was their
warmest on record for August. Monthly average minimum temperatures were even more noteworthy, with values around 76 to 77 degrees (around 2 to 3 degrees above normal), and were the warmest on record for August at Daytona Beach (77.0 degrees), Orlando (77.4 degrees), Melbourne (77.4 degrees) and Vero Beach (76.6 degrees).
This historically hot August only continued to help keep year-to-date average temperature values for 2023 ranking as the warmest on record at all climate sites (see table below).
2023 Year-to-Date Average Temperature Values and Ranking
Site Jan-Aug Avg. Temp Ranking
Daytona Beach 74.9 degrees Warmest (Prev: 73.9 in 2022)
Orlando 76.8 degrees Warmest (Prev: 76.4 in 2020)
Melbourne 76.2 degrees Warmest (Prev: 75.9 in 2017)
Vero Beach 76.3 degrees Warmest (Prev: 75.9 in 2020)
Fort Pierce 75.7 degrees Warmest (Prev: 75.5 in 2020/1991)