Floridian Nature

Learn about Florida's beautiful and unique nature.

Florida Climate: Weather
People Demographics History Artists George Abbott Jimmy Buffet Ray Charles Harry Crews Earl Cunningham Martin Johnson Heade Ernest Hemingway Florida Highwaymen Zora Neal Hurston James Weldon Johnson John Rosamond Johnson Lawrence "Hank" Locklin Will McLean Addison Mizner Victor Nunez Majorie Kinnan Rawlings Robert Rauschenberg Burt Reynolds Gamble Rogers James Rosenquist Patrick D. Smith Tennessee Williams Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Native Tribes Ais Tribe Apalachee Tribe Calusa Tribe Choctaw Tribe Creek Tribe Jeaga Tribe Miccosukee Tribe Seminole Tribe Tequesta Tribe Timucua Tribe Weather Climate Weather Charts Hurricanes Hurricane Season Hurricane Preparedness Hurricane FAQ's Storm Surge Florida Hurricanes Fl Hurricanes 1700-1949 Fl Hurricanes1950-1999 Fl Hurricanes 2000- Insects Ants Beetles Butterflies Butterflies (2) Butterflies (3) Creepy Crawlies Love Bugs Flying Insects Garden Pests Scorpions Spiders Brown Recluse Spider Widow Spiders Land Ecosystems Dunes & Maritime Forests Freshwater Marshes Hammocks Inshore Marine Habitats Mangroves Pine Flatwoods & Dry Prairies Salt Marshes Scrub & High Pine South Florida Rockland Swamps Tropical Reefs Environmental Issues Coastline Geography Nature Spots A-G Amelia Island Anclote Key Big Shoals Public Lands Biscayne National Park Blackwater River State Park Blowing Rocks State Park Blue Mountain Beach Canaveral National Seashore Captiva Island Cedar Key Coconut Creek Collier-Seminole State Park Crystal River Dog Island Everglades National Park Falling Water State Park Fanning Springs Fort Foster Grayton Beach Nature Spots H-T Henderson Beach Homosassa Springs Park Indian Key Jonathon Dickinson Park Marjorie Rawlings Site Myakka River State Park Natural Bridge Ocala National Forest Panacea Area Paynes Prairie Rainbow River Ravine State Gardens Sanibel Island Sebastin Inlet Silver Springs St. Augustine St. George Island St. Joseph Penisula Suwannee River Area Tallahassee Museum Gardening Garden Pests Vegetable Garden Calendar Xeriscaping Birds Common Birds Common Birds (2) Cranes Eagles & Osprey Game Birds Hawks Loons Owls Raptors Shorebirds Songbirds Vultures Wading Birds Water Birds Waterfowl Woodpeckers Wrens & Swift Endangered Endangered Amphibians Endangered Birds Endangered Birds (2) Endangered Birds (3) Endangered Birds (4) Endangered Birds (5) Endangered Birds (6) Endangered Fish Endangered Fish (2) Endangered Fish (3) Endangered Corals & Crustaceans Endangered Insects & Mollusks Endangered Mammals Endangered Mammals (2) Endangered Mammals (3) Endangered Mammals (4) Endangered Mammals (5) Endangered Mammals (6) Endangered Reptiles Endangered Reptiles (2) Endangered Reptiles (3) Endangered Reptiles (4) Endangered Reptiles (5) Fish Freshwater Fish Florida Black Bass Florida Catfish Florida Gar Florida Panfish Florida Pickerels Florida Stripers Florida Suckers Florida Suckers (2) Non-Native Fish Non-Native Fish (2) Non-Native Fish (3) Non-Native Fish (4) Other Fish Other Fish (2) Prohibited Aquatics Prohibited Aquatics (2) Marine Fish Billfish Bluefish Bonefish & Cobia Drums Drums (2) Flounder, Grunt, & Herring Grouper Grouper (2) Jacks Jacks (2) Mackerels & Tuna Mullet Tarpon & Spadefish Porgy Porgy (2) Sea Bass Shark Snapper Snapper (2) Snapper (3) Snook Mammals Bear Mink Bats Bats (2) Bats (3) Bats (4) Bobcat Coyote Deer Pig Panther Foxes Weasel Marine Mammals Dolphins Dolphins (2) Seals Manatee Whales Whales (2) Whales (3) Mice Moles Armadillo Rabbits Raccoons Rats Wolves Rhesus Macaque Otters Rodents Rodents (2) Shrews Skunks Squirrels Virginia Opossum Reptiles Alligators American Crocodile Anoles Florida Frogs Florida Frogs (2) Geckos Glass Lizards Lizards Newts & Sirens Salamander Salamanders (2) Skinks Toads Treefrogs Treefrogs (2) Venomous Snakes Cottonmouth Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake Eastern Coral Snake Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Southern Copperhead Timber Ratller Non Venomous Snakes Hognose Garter, Ribbon Coachwhips Misc. Snakes Pine King Brown Indigo Snakes Racers Rat Rough Green Snakes Unique Florida Snakes Water Snakes Water Snakes (2) Florida Turtles Freshwater Turtles Land Turtles Sea Turtles Sliders, Cooters, & Soft Shelled Turtles Flora Trees/Shrubs American Beautyberry-Bay Buttonbush-Deerberry Devils Walking Stick-Figs Firebush-Groundsel Tree Gulf Greytwig-Inkberry Magnolia-Myrsine Myrtle-Oak Palm Trees-PawPaw Pine-Rosemary Rouge -Spanish Bayonet St. John's-Wort-Vanishleaf Water Toothleaf-Willow Plant Life Aquatic Grasses Butterfly Attracting Plants Butterfly Plants (2) Butterfly Plants (3) Butterfly Plants (4) Butterfly Plants (5) Butterfly Plants (6) Emersed Plants Emersed Plants (2) Endangered Plants Endangered Plants(2) Endangered Plants(3) Endangered Plants(4) Endangered Plants(5) Fungi and Mushrooms Hummingbird Plants Hummingbird Plants(2) Hummingbird Plants(3) Hummingbird Plants(4) Native Grasses Poisonous Plants Poisonous Plants (2) Poisonous Plants (3) Sedges and Rushes Submersed Plants
The climate has always been Florida's most important natural resources, which is reflected in its official nickname, the "Sunshine State." Florida is famous for it's generally warm climate. The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is very distant from the ocean. North of lake Okeechobee, the prevalent climate is humid subtropical climate, while south of the lake has a true tropical climate. The seasons in Florida are determined more by precipitation than by temperature, with the hot, wet springs and summers making up the wet season, and mild to cool, and the relatively dry winters and autumns, making the dry season. Fall foliage is a common sight in Central and North Florida starting around late November, and into Winter. High temperatures in the state seldom exceed 100° F with much of Florida commonly seeing a high summer temperature of 90s °F. There is a defined rainy season from June through September, which are the months most at risk of land falling tropical storms or hurricanes and afternoon thunderstorms. Between October and May, fronts regularly sweep through the state which keeps conditions dry, particularly over the peninsula. Towards the end of the dry season in the spring, brush fires become common statewide. Lightning- Florida receives the highest density of lightning strikes within the United States. The corridor from Tampa Bay, Florida to Titusville, Florida is referred to as "lightning alley", since this area has the highest amount of lightning per year in the United S Several deaths per year are blamed on lightning, making lightning one of the deadliest weather-related phenomenon in the state. On average, 10 people die each year from lightning. Statistics show that teenage boys are most vulnerable. People in their 30's are the next most likely victims, followed by those in their 20's. July is the worst month for lightning deaths in our state. Summer brings thunderstorms. In July, kids are not usually in school at all. They are more likely to be outside when a thunderstorm approaches. The Fourth-of-July holiday weekend is particularly dangerous. The air in a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees F. It is this rapid heating of the air that produces the shock wave that results in thunder. A ground stroke can produce somewhere between 100 million to a 1 billion volts of electricity. The length of an average cloud-to-ground channel can range from 2 to 10 miles. You can tell how far away a lightning stroke is by counting the seconds between seeing the lightning flash and hearing the thunder: Five (5) seconds approximates one (1) mile of distance. If you see a flash and instantly hear the thunder, the lightning stroke was very close and you should take shelter immediately! Florida Precipitation- Florida has the highest average precipitation of any state, in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. A fair day may be interrupted with a storm, only to return to sunshine an hour or so later. These thunderstorms, caused by overland collisions of moist masses of air from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, pop up in the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and sometimes tornadoes. Hail sometimes accompanies the most severe thunderstorms. Snow is a rare occurrence in Florida. The most widespread snowfall in Florida history occurred on January 19, 1977, when snow fell over much of the state, as far south as Homestead. Snow flurries fell on Miami Beach for the only time in recorded history. A hard freeze in 2003 brought "ocean-effect" snow flurries to the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Canaveral. Florida Waterspouts- A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions do occur. Contrary to popular belief that waterspouts suck up water, the water seen in the main funnel cloud is actually water droplets formed by condensation. Waterspouts have a five-part life cycle: formation of a dark spot on the water surface, spiral pattern on the water surface, formation of a spray ring, development of the visible condensation funnel, and ultimately decay. Waterspouts probably occur more frequently in the Florida Keys than anywhere in the world. Waters around the Keys, especially from Marathon past Key West on westward to the Dry Tortugas, see 400 or 500 waterspouts a year. After the Florida Keys, the next most active U.S. waterspout area is the southeast Florida Coast from around Stuart south to Homestead. Tampa Bay has the greatest number of damaging waterspouts, probably because the shores of the Bay are so built up.
Follow us on Facebook Advertise \| Privacy Statement \| Bookstore \| Video \|Contact \| California Nature