ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida is obviously no stranger to heat, especially in June. Over the past 11 days however, more often than not, the heat hasn’t been Central Florida-like.
For the 11-day stretch from June 14 through the 24th, where the temperatures routinely flirted with records, Central Florida felt more like south Central Texas. With an average high temperature of nearly 96 degrees and an average low of 74, Orlando was more like San Antonio from a climate perspective.
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The other component was the abnormally dry weather for the middle of June. At times it felt more like a dry heat than the soupy air Floridians are accustomed to in summer.
From the same time period, Orlando International Airport only measured 1.83 inches of rain, or 1.25 inches below normal. 1.42 inches of that rain fell in one day.
The last two days of the heatwave were the most extreme. Daytona Beach soared to 101°, reaching 100° or hotter for the first time since 1999. Orlando reached 99° on back to back days, which hadn’t happened since July of 1998.
1998 was an extremely brutal year for heat, drought and wildfires across the Sunshine State. There was a five-day streak and another four-day streak of days reaching 99° or hotter that year.
The final two days of the hot stretch had Central Florida feeling more like El Paso, Texas, which averages 98° and 72° for its high and low respectively this time of the year.
For the month to date, this June currently ranks the 5th hottest of all time for Orlando.