Florida heat

Every recorded heat record since 1996 · 38 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 294 heat records in Florida from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 22 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the September 2, 2010 heat in Leon County: 1 death. Florida ranks 32nd of 51 states and territories by count and 38th of 50 per square mile.

Heat in Florida, 1996 to 2026

Heat records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 2941996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 22average
Deaths: 1564 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: –as filed
Busiest year: 2023219 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are heat records common in Florida?

Florida averages about 22 heat records a year since 2000, 32nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2023 (219). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Florida records 55 heat records since 1996, 38th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Florida have the most heat records?

Per square mile, Holmes County leads Florida: 10 days with a heat record since 1996, 20.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Bay County has the most heat records (25 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

Holmes County 20.9 (10)
Franklin County 20.2 (19)
Gulf County 19.9 (22)
Calhoun County 19.4 (11)
Washington County 18.8 (11)
Bay County 18.5 (25)
Leon County 15.0 (10)
Jackson County 14.2 (13)
Gadsden County 13.6 (7)
Wakulla County 13.2 (16)
Jefferson County 11.7 (14)
Dixie County 11.3 (13)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the heat season in Florida?

87% of its heat records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is August (227 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 1 · Mar 3 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 29 · Jul 28 · Aug 227 · Sep 3 · Oct 2 · Nov 1 · Dec 0 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest heat records in Florida?

Florida: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
2010-09-02	HeatLeon County · forecast zone Leon A 6 month old child was left in a car for approximately 2 hours as afternoon temperatures reached the lower 90s in the Tallahassee area. The child eventually succumbed to injuries believed to be related to prolonged heat exposure.	1	–
2010-09-12	HeatHillsborough County · forecast zone Hillsborough A 3-year-old girl was mistakenly left in a sport utility vehicle for around an hour and 45 minutes, and died in the heat, while three of the girl's cousins attended a church service on North 9th Street in Tampa. Temperatures during the time the girl was in the vehicle were in the upper 80s, with dew point temperatures ...	1	–
2010-08-05	HeatPalm Beach County · forecast zone Coastal Palm Beach County A 2 year old girl was found in a van at a day care at around 4 PM local time after spending many hours in the vehicle. The child had been picked up in the morning and was found in the vehicle about 6 hours later. The high temperature in the area was 91 degrees, which is very close to the average high for early August.	1	–
2009-10-08	HeatPolk County · forecast zone Polk Record high temperatures were felt for four days in a row from October 8th through October 11th at the Lakeland Linder Airport. The high temperature was 95 degrees each afternoon from the 8th through the 10th and 94 degrees on the 11th. This record heat combined with afternoon dew points in the 70s to allow for heat ...	1	–
2009-06-23	HeatLee County · forecast zone Lee Afternoon temperatures in the lower 90s combined with dew points in the lower 70s to make a heat index of 100 to 105 degrees on this afternoon. A 25-year-old male collapsed and later died due to the heat while playing basketball with friends in Cape Coral.	1	–
1998-06-01	HeatVolusia County · forecast zone Volusia A deep high pressure ridge persisted across the Gulf of Mexico and Florida throughout most of the June and into early July. It resulted in several long stretches of record breaking high temperatures. Melbourne had 22 days, Orlando had 12 days and Daytona Beach had 13 days where high temperature records were either ...	1	–
1998-06-13	HeatNorth Ft Myers, Lee County The Lee County Health Department reported that 46 year-old man was found dead from the affects of heat and alcohol in the back of a closed van on the 15000 block of North Cleveland Avenue.	1	–
1998-06-24	HeatNorth Ft Myers, Lee County The Lee County Health Department reported that a 44 year-old male died from the combined affects of heat and alcohol in an enclosed parked van in North Ft Myers.	1	–
1998-06-03	HeatFt Myers, Lee County The Lee County Health Department reported that an eleven month old female, left unattended in an unventilated, non-airconditioned room, died from the affects of heat in Ft Myers.	1	–
1997-07-03	HeatOrlando, Orange County A high temperature of 97 degrees was recorded at Orlando International Airport. This was only six degrees above normal, but the heat claimed one life. A 22 year old man was found unconscious a parking lot laying on the hot asphalt. He was taken to a hospital where his internal temperature was recorded at 106 degrees. ...	1	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

Are heat records becoming more frequent in Florida?

Florida's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Heat: Florida and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Florida	United States	Florida's share
1996-99	8	4,355	0.18%
2000s	32	9,163	0.35%
2010s	25	16,445	0.15%
2020-26	229	26,796	0.85%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent heat records in Florida

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2023-10-07	HeatBroward County · forecast zone Metro Broward County	0	26	–
2023-07-19	HeatBaker County · forecast zone Baker	1	0	–
2023-07-06	HeatMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Inland Miami-Dade	1	0	–
2022-07-11	HeatMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Metropolitan Miami-Dade	1	0	–
2017-07-25	HeatMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Coastal Miami-Dade County	0	15	–
2017-07-25	HeatMartin County · forecast zone Martin	0	3	–
2017-07-25	HeatSt. Lucie County · forecast zone St. Lucie	0	3	–
2012-06-15	HeatBroward County · forecast zone Metro Broward County	0	6	–
2011-11-15	HeatMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Metropolitan Miami-Dade	0	1	–
2011-09-08	Excessive HeatMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Coastal Miami-Dade County	0	8	–
2010-09-12	HeatHillsborough County · forecast zone Hillsborough	1	0	–
2010-09-02	HeatLeon County · forecast zone Leon	1	0	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.