Glades County just went through its hottest August on record, joining 11 other South Florida counties that broke long-standing heat records last month.
The county recorded an average temperature of 84.7 degrees in August, the highest for the month in records going back more than a century, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
The extreme heat also came with less rain than usual. Glades County finished August with a 2.4-inch rainfall deficit, meaning the county received 2.4 inches less rain than its normal August amount.
Glades was not alone. Twelve counties — Glades, Hendry, Okeechobee, Lee, Collier, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe — recorded their hottest August on record.
Across Florida, the average August temperature was 83.7 degrees, about 2.6 degrees above normal, according to a Sept. 9 federal climate report. That made August 2026 the state’s second-hottest August in 132 years of records. Only August 2023 was hotter, with an average temperature of 84.9 degrees.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Martin County saw one of the largest jumps above normal. Its average temperature reached 85.1 degrees, 3.9 degrees above its normal August average.
The heat was felt across nearly the entire state. Most Florida counties ranked as either “much above average” or “above average” for August temperatures.
South Florida also experienced a major heat wave in the middle of the month. Miami reached 100 degrees, only the second time the city has hit that temperature since weather records began there in 1895.
Meteorologists say persistent high pressure helped drive the unusually hot weather. Robert Molleda, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Miami, told the Post that the El Niño climate pattern can help produce strong subtropical high pressure near or over Florida.
That high pressure causes air to sink. As the air sinks, it becomes warmer and drier, reducing cloud cover and the chances for the afternoon rain that often helps cool Florida during the summer.
Despite Glades County’s rainfall shortage, rainfall across Florida as a whole was near normal during August. A University of Florida weather summary also found that rainfall was near or below average across most of the state.
The heat wasn’t limited to Florida. August 2026 was the hottest August on record across the contiguous United States, according to federal climate data. The average U.S. temperature for the month was 75.6 degrees, 3.5 degrees above the 20th-century average.