WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After a very long, chilly and damp January, most of us are ready for more sunshine in the Sunshine State!
As of Jan. 29, we only had four days in the 80s in both Vero Beach and West Palm Beach during January.
On Jan. 16, the Climate Prediction Center released its outlook for February across the U.S. The agency's goal is to accurately predict the temperature and precipitation trend for each month and season.
For Florida, the current prediction is one that many residents will be very happy with after the January we experienced.
The extended forecast shows a trend of above-normal temperatures. In February, the average high temperature for West Palm Beach is 76.7 and our low temperature is 60.1. In Vero Beach, the high is 75.6 and the low is 54.5.
In addition to our temperatures, we are looking to have a drier trend for February.
In January, we totaled 0.94 in West Palm Beach and 1.13 in Vero Beach. Despite the cool and damp trend, not a lot of rain fell compared to what we normally experience. On average, West Palm Beach sees 3.14 inches of rainfall, whereas Vero Beach sees 2.48 inches of precipitation.
We will continue a dry trend for February, but it is trending to be even drier than January.
The reason for this prediction is due to La Niña conditions that are currently present and predicted to persist through April 2025.
In a La Niña pattern, the trade winds push warmer water toward Asia and bring cooler waters to the west coast of the U.S. This typically means dry weather, warmer conditions and drought for the southern U.S. and cooler temperatures for the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
