Climate and Storm History of Broward County, Florida

Broward County, Florida, like much of the southern Atlantic Coast of the state, has a tropical monsoon climate.  Characteristics include hot, humid summers and short, warm winters.  The winters are also markedly drier than the summer months.  It has a sea-level elevation, coastal location, latitude just above the Tropic of Cancer, and proximity to the Gulf Stream, all of which shape its climate.

January temperatures average 67 degrees Fahrenheit, and all winter months feature mild to warm temperatures.  Cooler air may settle in after a cold front passes through the county, and it this phenomenon is what produces much of the very little winter rainfall. Lows may fall below 50 degrees, but very rarely below 35 degree.  In winter, highs generally range between 70–77.  The wet season begins in mid-May and typically ends in mid-October.  During this period, temperatures range from the mid 80s to low 90s, and are accompanied by high humidity.  The heat and humidity are often relieved by a passing afternoon thunderstorm or sea breeze developing off the Atlantic.  This will lower temperatures, but conditions usually remain quite muggy.  Most of the year's average of approximately 55 inches of rainfall occurs during the wet season.

A cold temperature extreme was recorded on February 3, 1917, at 27 degrees.  On the high end, a temperature reading of 100 degrees was recorded on July 21, 1940.  Broward County has rarely experienced any snowfall, certainly not measurable, and even snow flurries are scarce.

The official hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, although it is not unusual for a hurricane to develop outside those dates.  The most likely time for Broward County to be affected by hurricanes is mid-August through the end of September.  Tornadoes are uncommon in the Broward County area, though tornadoes may spin off of the hurricanes that strike the region.

City of Broward County, Florida: General Information

Broward County, Florida is a county located along the Atlantic Coast toward the southern tip of the state.  As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 1,748,066 people, which makes it the second most populated county in the state.  It is also the eighteenth most populous county in the United States.  Broward County is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area, created for census purposes.  As of the 2000 census, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in Broward County. The population density was 1,346 people residing in every square mile, and there were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 within each square mile.

Of the 654,445 households in Broward County counted in the 2000 Census, 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living in them, while 46.1% were married couples living together, and 12.5% had a female householder.  The remaining 37.1% were non-family members.  In all households, 29.6% were made up of individuals, and 12.4% were individuals residing along who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 people and the average family size was 3.07.

The age distribution in Broward County was 23.6% of residents who were under the age of 18, 7.2% were aged from 18 to 24 years, 31.4% were 25 to 44 years.  In the older age brackets, 21.7% were ages 45 to 64, and 16.1% were residents that were 65 years of age or older. The median age in Broward County was 38 years.  Out of every 100 females there were 93.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

For a household in Broward County, the median income was $41,691, and the median income for a family was $50,531.  Males out earned females, with median income of $36,741 versus $28,529.  The per capita income for the county was $23,170.  Approximately, 8.7% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

History of the City of Broward County, Florida

Broward County, Florida is located along the state’s southward Atlantic Coast, and was created in 1915 when Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create it.  The name derives from Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, who was Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.  In its early years, Broward County was a leader in agriculture products and services in the state, though the massive post-World War II buildup of South Florida transformed the region.

Broward County was one of the Florida counties involved in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election recount controversy.  Since the 1960s, the county has gone from solidly Republican to solidly Democratic.  In fact, in the 1972 U.S. presidential election, Broward County residents voted overwhelmingly for Richard Nixon over George McGovern.  By the 1992 U.S. presidential election, however, Broward County voters backed the Democratic presidential nominee over the Republican nominee by strong majorities.  The change in voting tendencies is most likely due to the continuous flow and large influx of “snowbirds” and transplanted people from the liberal Northeast and other blue states.  There is also an expanding LGBT community, as well as naturalized U.S. citizens born in places such as Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

In 2002, Broward County began a controversial and aggressive campaign of placing surveillance cameras along highways and traffic lights.  Critics contend the cameras violate drivers’ due process rights.  Two separate lawsuits have even been filed over their use, one in Aventura filed in February, and one in Temple Terrace near Tampa, filed at the end of July.