We finally crossed the line from summer into fall on Monday (Sept. 22.)
Or did we?
Officially, according to the 2025 calendar, the first day of fall was Monday. Or, you could say Sunday (Sept. 21) was the last day of summer.
But certainlly not the last day of summer-like temperatures.
It’s also known as “lingering summer heat,” said Climate Change, an organization whose website says it communicates climate change science, effects, and solutions to the public and decision-makers.
According to new Climate Central analysis, summer heat −and the risks it brings − is lasting longer and stretching into fall. The analysis revealed summer is lingering later in 227 (92%) of the 246 major U.S. cities analyzed.
Climate Central reports cities in Florida and Texas have experienced the largest extension in summer-like temperatures. This includes one city in Southwest Florida − Fort Myers.
Fort Myers is one of 227 cities with summer temperatures now extending 10 days later into the fall, on average, than in the early 1970s, accoding to the analysis. Naples and Cape Coral were not includued in the analysis.
Fort Myers summer temperatures extend 15 days later into the fall. The analysis covered temperature change from 1970-2024. This Climate Matters analysis is based on open-access data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Miami (46 days of exteneded summer-like temperatures) and San Angelo, Texas (31 days) top the list.
Gainesville (0) and Sarasota (-7) were two of 19 cities where temperatures remained the same or were cooler for the time period.
Fort Myers, Gainesville, Miami and Sarasota are four of 10 Florida cities that showed up in the anaysis. The others:
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 55-years of data: This SWFL city sees summer-like temperatures drag beyond first day of fall
Reporting by Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
