Summer Not So Hot In Florida After All

MIAMI, FL — Do you know what we call the first day of summer in Florida this year?

Answer: Friday.

It's true that summertime in the Sunshine State tends to be warmer than our other three warm seasons, but a word of caution for the geographically challenged seeking to extract their ounce of revenge for our incessant winter gloating, and yes, we know we do it.

Summer is not actually as hot in Florida as other places in the country, according to Senior Meteorologist Robert Garcia with the National Weather Service in Miami.

"I think one of the differences of being in Florida, and maybe some other places around the country, is we have sea breezes that develop most days in the afternoons," Garcia told Patch.

That goes for the entire state, including central Florida which draws breezes from both coasts.

"You may have some thunderstorms, but typically as they push through the area, it helps cool things down and kind of gives a little bit of relief from any kind of heat," Garcia explained.

Summer is Florida's rainy reason as the crew from ABC's "Good Morning America" can attest after slogging through a rainy Friday morning interview with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen to discuss their new movie, "Toy Story 4."

The frequent summertime showers actually help keep the temperatures in the 80s and 90s throughout the state.

"A lot of other parts of the country can hit triple digits but we don’t tend to hit that," observed Garcia. "We’re surrounded by water on three sides and ... those sea breezes and thunderstorms help cool us down."

Other areas of the United States like the Midwest, Great Plains, West and Northeast can get much hotter — for days at a stretch.

Florida may not have to worry about triple-digit heat on most days this summer but the Atlantic hurricane season will be in effect throughout the summer months until Nov. 3o.

"Obviously we’ll have to watch as storms come," Garcia added. "There’s nothing that’s standing out that’s abnormally looking at the moment."