ORLANDO, Fla. – After a year-long heat wave, Central Florida can officially write 2020 down in the record books.
This abnormally warm weather has seemed to become more the norm for the past several years.
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For the last five years, the annual average temperature has ranked within the top five of recorded history in Sanford, Melbourne and Leesburg.
This continues to be the case for 2020, with two reporting stations reaching top spot for hottest year on record.
2020 Temperature Recap/Ranking:
- Daytona Beach: 73.1° (+2.2° above normal) -- 3rd Warmest
- Leesburg: 74.8° (+2.6° above normal) -- Warmest
- Sanford: 75.1° (+2.4° above normal) -- Warmest
- Orlando: 75.4° (+2.6° above normal) -- 2nd Warmest
- Melbourne: 74.6° (+2.2° above normal) -- 4th Warmest
If not for the colder than usual weather pattern in December, it likely would have been the warmest year on record for the majority of sites across all of east Central Florida.
2020 Rainfall Recap/Ranking:
When it comes to rainfall across Central Florida, drier than normal conditions dominated the area for the first few months of the year, followed by a more active and stormier setup through the summer.
Along with the daily sea breeze collisions, it was also an extremely active hurricane season. Even though Central Florida was spared from any direct hit, increase in rainfall from nearby tropical systems, like Isaias, brought substantial totals to the region.
The final count for 2020 rainfall totals was a mixed bag, depending on the location:
- Daytona Beach: 46.68″ (+2.94″ above normal)
- Leesburg: 38.72″ (-12.47″ below normal)
- Sanford: 40.33″ (-11.35″ below normal) -- 8th driest
- Orlando: 53.25″ (+2.52″ above normal)
- Melbourne: 49.50″ (-2.50″ below normal)