If April seemed abnormally hot and dry to you, guess what — it was.
West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami all saw their warmest April on record, the National Weather Service in Miami reported on Wednesday.
“Warm temperatures last month more resembled what South Florida should expect in May,” meteorologist Robert Molleda wrote in a summary of last month’s weather conditions.
Specifically, the average April temperature in Fort Lauderdale was 79.1, or 4.9 degrees above normal; it was 80.1 in Miami, or 4.4 degrees above normal and 80.2 degrees in West Palm Beach, or 6.4 degrees above normal.
Meanwhile, last month saw below normal rainfall. Fort Lauderdale received 2.6 inches less rain than normal, West Palm Beach 3.27 inches less than normal and Miami Beach 1.19 inches less than normal.
Miami, however, received 2 inches more rain than normal.
The weather service blamed persistent high pressure over the Southeast for the hot and dry conditions.
However, the upcoming rainy season is expected to be wetter than normal, and should help ease the current extreme drought conditions, forecasters said.
