Tallahassee finally received a break from the intense August heat last week, with temperatures settling back to normal overall and several noticeably cooler afternoons closing out the period. For the week of August 24–30, the average temperature at Tallahassee International Airport was 82.0 deg rees, exactly matching the 1991–2020 normal for those dates. The week began hot, with a high of 96 degrees on Monday, August 24, but temperatures dropped substantially later in the week. Highs reached just 86 degrees Thursday, 84 Friday and 85 Saturday before rebounding to 95 Sunday. The week’s lowest temperature was 73 degrees, recorded Sunday. Four of the final five days finished with average temperatures below normal, including Friday at 79 degrees — 3 degrees below normal. The cooler finish, however, has not erased what was an unusually hot August. Over the 28 days ending August 30, Tallahassee averaged approximately 84.4 degrees, about 2.0 degrees above the date-specific historical normal of 82.4 degrees. The period included back-to-back 100-degree highs on August 17 and 18. Rainfall remains the bigger developing weather story. Only 0.25 inches of rain fell during the seven-day period, compared with approximately 1.48 inches normally expected, leaving the week about 1.23 inches below normal. Measurable rain fell on five days, but amounts were small. The wettest day was Wednesday, August 26, with just 0.13 inches. The trailing four-week period was also very dry. From August 3 through August 30, Tallahassee received 1.78 inches, compared with approximately 6.87 inches normally expected — only about 26% of normal. Through August 30, month-to-date rainfall stood at 5.99 inches, 1.42 inches below the normal 7.41 inches. The longer-term deficit is much larger: year-to-date rainfall totaled 29.51 inches, compared with a normal 43.13 inches, a deficit of 13.62 inches, or roughly 32%. No daily temperature or rainfall records were tied or broken during the week. NWS records for Tallahassee extend back to 1896. By the Numbers MeasureActualNormalDifferenceWeekly Avg. Temperature82.0°F82.0°F0.0°FWeekly Rainfall0.25 in.1.48 in.-1.23 in.4-Week Avg. Temperature84.4°F82.4°F+2.0°F4-Week Rainfall1.78 in.6.87 in.-5.09 in. (26% of normal)Month-to-Date Rainfall5.99 in.7.41 in.-1.42 in.Year-to-Date Rainfall29.51 in.43.13 in.-13.62 in. About the data: Tallahassee Reports uses official NOAA/National Weather Service observations for Tallahassee. Temperature and precipitation comparisons are calculated against NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals. Weekly reports cover Monday through Sunday, while four-week comparisons cover the 28 days ending Sunday. ...read more read less