Fort Lauderdale’s airport recorded 20.75 inches of rain by 8:30 a.m. Sept. 23, a September record for the area. That tops the 1998 record of 18.40 inches and is more than double the 8.61-inch average. The National Weather Service said more rain was possible before month’s end.
The record came after an unusually hot, dry summer in South Florida, according to the National Weather Service. Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach recorded their hottest summers on record, while Miami tied its 2023 mark; several official reporting sites had summers among the region’s 10 driest on record.
The NWS said extreme drought lingered in the southern Everglades through the end of summer. Its summary also reported several lightning-triggered wildfires during the dry summer, lasting from a week to nearly a month.
