THEWEATHERMOGIL:: South Florida 2015 recap – hot with rainfall driven by sea breeze winds

H. Michael Mogil January 1, 2016June 18, 2017

To say that it was unseasonably hot in south Florida in 2015 would be an understatement. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Miami, 2015 was the hottest year on record at all four main climate sites (Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples and West Palm Beach). Temperatures for the year easily topped records dating back some 70 to 125 plus years depending upon the reporting station. While Fig. 1 only shows the average for 2015 through Dec. 30, the actual yearly values should be about the same.

November and December were very warm months, setting monthly records for many south Florida locales. There were also widespread daily record high maximum and record high minimum readings.

In addition to the warmth, rainfall across the state was exceptionally varied, both in time and space scales. For time, southeast Florida was plagued by a persistent drought for much of the year. Then in December, a typically dry month in the area, southeast coastal regions reported near record monthly rainfall.

Across south Florida, sea breeze focused rainfall patterns dominated (Fig. 2). Very heavy rainfall blanketed the immediate east coast, while a band of very heavy rainfall aligned itself just inland along the west coast. Inland locations received substantially less rainfall. Sea breeze rainfall occurs when daily winds blow inland from coastal locations (sea breeze) to push warm humid air upward. The boundary along which this upward motion (and resulting thunderstorm activity) occurs is called the “sea breeze front,” and typically lies along to 15 to 20 miles inland.

Closer examination of the rainfall data showed that from north Naples (my rain gauge location – Naples 7.7. NNE within the COCORAHS Network) to Naples Airport (APF), rainfall varied from 60.08 inches to 39.70 inches, a rainfall gradient of more than 20 inches in about 7 miles (roughly 3 inches per mile).

Then Rob Molleda (NWS Miami) advised that the rainfall gradient was even greater between APF and the east Naples cooperative observer site (near I-75 and Collier Boulevard). Here, the rainfall gradient ranged from 73.35 inches to 39.70 inches, a difference of 33.65 inches in just 5 miles (more than double the gradient noted above).

The result of this rainfall disparity was that some parts of Collier County (home to Naples) received more than 20 inches above average rainfall, while nearby locales saw 20 inches less than average (Fig. 3). Similar, albeit less dramatic, variations in rainfall across short distances punctuated the annual rainfall map across south Florida.

Originally published 1/1/16

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