TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Meteorological summer — June, July and August — is now done and it was certainly a memorable one with Tampa recording its first 100-degree day and also the hottest heat index on record at 119.

But with that said, it was not quite the hottest. By the numbers, Tampa registered its third hottest summer since records have been kept in 1890. The official data is measured at the airport.

The honor of the hottest summer goes to 2023. And the honor of the most oppressive summer — in terms of heat and humidity — was 2024. So they are all the most recent years. It’s not coincidence, it’s climate change. But let’s discuss the particulars.

The highlight, or some may say lowlight, was Tampa hitting 100 for the first time on July 27 — now an all-time record for the city. Two days later, Tampa also had its highest heat index on record at 119.

The other standout was the oppressive morning heat. Tampa never fell below 80 degrees on 29 mornings. That is the third most 80-degree plus days for low temperatures — only beat out by 2022 and 2023.

Mornings are actually warming faster than daytime all around the globe due to climate change. That’s because excess greenhouse gases (from the burning of fossil fuels) and extra water vapor act as a blanket at night, cutting Earth’s radiative heat loss.

Add to that near record Gulf temperatures for the last few years and any morning with an onshore flow stays unusually warm.

And don’t forget about urbanization. There’s a lot more concrete and asphalt now so cities like Tampa store more heat at night, whereas rural areas radiate and cool better.

On the whole, Tampa had its third hottest summer. Plant City had its fourth hottest summer, Brooksville sixth, Winter Haven seventh, and Venice ninth. All cities were about 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit above the recent 30 year normal.

Over the longer-term, warmer summers have become a lot more common due to climate change — both from urban heating and excess greenhouse gases. Since 1970, Tampa summers are now 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.

It’s not just Tampa. In fact, the vast majority of the U.S. is warming — most places faster than Tampa. The U.S. West has warmed 4-5 degrees during summer since 1970.

In terms of rain, summer 2025 was a mixed bag. It was wet to the south of Tampa Bay and dry to the north and east. Winter Haven had its fourth driest summer on record, but Sarasota had 9 inches above normal rainfall.

Regardless of how much rain fell, it was enough to wipe out most drought from the Tampa Bay Area — for now.