Climate and Storm History of Cape Canaveral, Florida

The climate in Cape Canaveral is classified as subtropical, which in a metrological sense refers to  the geographical and climate zones which are immediately north and south of the tropical zones of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.  Subtropical climates experience winters that are relatively warm and mild, and the summer season is quite hot and humid.  Cape Canaveral rarely experiences frost or snowfall, enabling plants such as palm, citrus and many broadleaf evergreens to flourish.

There are distinguishable seasons in Cape Canaveral, with variably cooler winter months and much warmer summer seasons.  Rainfall is quite common in the summer during June, July and August, when the humidity can be extreme.  Rainfall typically occurs in the late afternoon and passes through relatively quickly.

Cape Canaveral has had its share of heavy weather, but the most noteworthy storm of recent history was Tropical Storm Fay, which struck the area on August 20, 2008.  The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Fay dropped 20.03 inches of rain on Cape Canaveral after forming from a dynamic tropical wave on August 15 over the Dominican Republic in the Eastern Caribbean.  After passing over the island of Hispaniola, Fay moved into the Gulf of Gonave, crossed the island of Cuba, and made landfall on the Florida Keys late in the afternoon of August 18.  Fay then veered into the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near Naples, Florida, in the early hours of August 19.

Tropical Storm Fay then moved in a northeasterly direction through the Florida peninsula, finally emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne, Florida, southwest of Cape Canaveral, on August 20.  Severe flooding took place throughout several regions in Florida, as Fay was an extremely slow moving storm.  On August 21, the storm again made landfall near New Smyrna Beach, before moving due west across the Panhandle of the state, crossing Gainesville and Panama City, Florida.  As Tropical Storm Fay skipped over water to land and back again, it became the first storm in recorded history to make landfall in the state of Florida a total of four times.  Thirty-six deaths were blamed on Fay, and this storm also caused one of the most prolific tropical cyclone related tornado outbreaks since records have been kept.  In all, a total of 81 tornadoes touched down across five states, three of which were rated as EF2.  Economic damage as a result of Tropical Storm Fay was heavy, estimated at $560 million.