Climate Summary for Florida - June 2026

Prepared by Florida Climate Center
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

Summary:

• Monthly mean temperatures in June were near to above normal in Florida.
• Monthly precipitation totals in June were mixed, with parts of the Panhandle and eastern Florida receiving above normal rainfall, while most of the Peninsula received below normal rainfall.
• Drought persisted but improved in the Panhandle and areas of exceptional drought were removed. By the end of the month, about 18% of the state was in extreme drought (D3), 41% was in severe drought (D2), 21% was in moderate drought (D1), and 13% was abnormally dry (D0), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
• El Niño conditions developed in the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean and rapidly strengthened over the past few weeks. Chances for a very strong event are currently at 81% during October-December.

Table 1. June average temperatures and departures from normal ( ̊F) for select cities.

Figure 1. Monthly average temperature departures from normal (°F) in Florida for June 2026.

Table 2. June precipitation totals and departures from normal (inches) for selected cities.

Figure 2. A graphical depiction of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (inches) for June 2026 (courtesy of NOAA, NWS).

El Niño Conditions are Present in the Pacific Ocean.

In June, El Niño conditions developed in the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean. Over the past month, El Niño strengthened as a large area of sea surface temperature anomalies in excess of +1.0°C emerged across the central and eastern Niño index regions. The latest weekly westernmost (Niño-4) and easternmost (Niño-1+2) indices were at +0.5°C and +2.7°C, respectively. Low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level easterly wind anomalies were observed over the equatorial Pacific, providing reinforcing factors for a strengthening event. There is very high confidence (98% chance) that El Niño will persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27. There is currently an 81% chance of a very strong El Niño during October-December. It is likely to rank among the strongest El Niño events in the historical record dating back to 1950.

Hazardous Weather Events in June.

According to the Local Storm Reports issued by the local National Weather Service offices serving Florida, there were 414 individual local reports of hazardous weather events recorded across the state during the month of June (see Table 3 for a breakdown by event type). Thunderstorm activity during the month led to high wind gusts, heavy downpours, and some reports of hail. On the 20th, a strong wind gust associated with a thunderstorm caused a gazebo to collapse in Hollywood in Broward County, resulting in five injuries. On the 26th, a man was injured from a lightning strike in Miami-Dade County.

Table 3. Breakdown of storm reports submitted in Florida during the month of June (compiled from Iowa State University/Iowa Environmental Mesonet).

Daily Record Events in June.

Table 4. Summary of daily records broken, or set, in Florida in June 2026 (source: NCEI Daily Weather Records).

Drought-Related Impacts.

During June, drought continued to improve in some areas of the state but drought lingers in most places. By mid-June, approximately 4% of the state was in exceptional drought (D4), 20% in extreme drought (D3), 39% in severe drought (D2), and 29% was in moderate drought (D1), with about 8% abnormally dry (D0), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. By the end of the month, no portion of the state was in exceptional drought (D4); approximately 18% of the state was in extreme drought (D3), 41% was in severe drought (D2), and 21% was in moderate drought (D1), with 13% of the state abnormally dry (D0) (Figure 3 below).

As of June 30, the Lake Okeechobee water level was 10.93 ft. above sea level (Feet-NGVD29), which is below average for this time of year and below the water shortage management level. At the first of June, the water level was 10.83 ft. above sea level.

Figure 3. A graphical depiction of the latest drought conditions in Florida according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (courtesy of the National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln).

Agriculture-Related Impacts.

Appendix 1
Additional June departures from normal data for select Florida locations (source: NWS).

Appendix 2
Select daily record high maximum temperatures tied or broken during June (compiled from NOAA).