TAMPA, Fla. -- As we enter August, the "Dog Days of Summer" are very much underway and in our weather that means high humidity, good rain chances, and little day to day change.  August is normally our wettest month of the year.

The first of August also marks the start of what I call the "real Hurricane Season" as historically about 60 percent of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic happen in August and September.  Also, as we found out last year with Hurricane Harvey in Texas and in 2004 with Hurricane Charley here in Florida, August can often mark the beginning of the stronger and more damaging hurricanes.

For our area, here are our August normals (based on the last 30 years averages) and extremes:

TAMPA

Normal Rainfall 7.77”

Normal High/Low  90/76

Hottest 98 August 22, 1976

Coolest 66 August 22, 1911

Wettest August Day 4.92” August 12, 1949

Wettest August 18.59” in 1949

Driest August  0.78” in 1938

ST. PETERSBURG

Normal Rainfall 8.38”

Normal High/Low  91/77

Hottest 99 August 23, 1986

Coolest  65 August 7, 1942

Wettest August Day  15.45” August 2, 1915

LAKELAND

Normal Rainfall 8.50”

Normal High/Low 91/73

Hottest 100 August 2, 1989  August 6, 1987  August 8, 1987  August 9, 1987  August 15, 1995

Coolest  63  August 23, 1957

Wettest August Day  6.02” August 27, 1949

BRADENTON

Normal Rainfall 9.14”

Normal High/Low 90.75

Hottest 101 August 1, 1972

Coolest 62 August 7 1982

Wettest August Day 5.91” August 14, 1928