This report describes the typical weather at the Tampa International Airport (Tampa, Florida, United States) weather station over the course of an average year. It is based on the historical records from 1974 to 2012. Earlier records are either unavailable or unreliable.

Tampa, Florida has a warm humid temperate climate with hot summers and no dry season. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by croplands (47%), oceans and seas (27%), built-up areas (14%), forests (6%), and grasslands (6%).

Over the course of a year, the temperature typically varies from 51°F to 90°F and is rarely below 37°F or above 93°F.

Daily High and Low Temperature

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The daily average low (blue) and high (red) temperature with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

The warm season lasts from May 8 to October 6 with an average daily high temperature above 86°F. The hottest day of the year is July 31, with an average high of 90°F and low of 76°F.

The cold season lasts from December 7 to February 24 with an average daily high temperature below 73°F. The coldest day of the year is January 18, with an average low of 51°F and high of 69°F.

Fraction of Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands

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The average fraction of time spent in various temperature bands: frigid (below 15°F), freezing (15°F to 32°F), cold (32°F to 50°F), cool (50°F to 65°F), comfortable (65°F to 75°F), warm (75°F to 85°F), hot (85°F to 100°F) and sweltering (above 100°F).

The length of the day varies significantly over the course of the year. The shortest day is December 21 with 10:22 hours of daylight; the longest day is June 20 with 13:55 hours of daylight.

Daily Hours of Daylight and Twilight

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The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line), with various degrees of daylight, twilight, and night, indicated by the color bands. From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray): full daylight, solar twilight (Sun is visible but less than 6° from the horizon), civil twilight (Sun is not visible but is less than 6° below the horizon), nautical twilight (Sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon), astronomical twilight (Sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon), and full night.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:33am on June 7 and the latest sunset is at 8:31pm on July 3. The latest sunrise is at 7:44am on March 11 and the earliest sunset is at 5:34pm on November 29.

Daylight savings time (DST) is observed in this location during 2012, starting in the spring on March 11 and ending in the fall on November 4.

Daily Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Savings Time

The solar day over the course of the year 2012 . From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (solar, civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight savings time are indicated by the "DST" labels.

The median cloud cover ranges from 44% (partly cloudy) to 67% (partly cloudy). The sky is cloudiest on July 18 and clearest on May 1. The clearer part of the year begins around September 23. The cloudier part of the year begins around June 6.

Median Cloud Cover

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The median daily cloud cover (black line) with percentile bands (inner band from 40th to 60th percentile, outer band from 25th to 75th percentile).

On May 1, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 29% of the time.

On July 18, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast, mostly cloudy, or partly cloudy 75% of the time, and clear or mostly clear 22% of the time.

Cloud Cover Types

The fraction of time spent in each of the five sky cover categories. From top (most blue) to bottom (most gray), the categories are clear, mostly clear, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, and overcast. Pink indicates missing data. Outside of the United States clear skies are often reported ambiguously, leading them to be lumped in with the missing data.

The probability that precipitation will be observed at this location varies throughout the year. Precipitation is most likely around July 21, occurring in 71% of days. Precipitation is least likely around April 10, occurring in 22% of days.

Probability of Precipitation at Some Point in the Day

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The fraction of days in which various types of precipitation are observed. If more than one type of precipitation is reported in a given day, the more severe precipitation is counted. For example, if light rain is observed in the same day as a thunderstorm, that day counts towards the thunderstorm totals. The order of severity is from the top down in this graph, with the most severe at the bottom.

Over the entire year, the most common forms of precipitation are thunderstorms, light rain, and moderate rain.

Thunderstorms are the most severe precipitation observed during 52% of those days with precipitation. They are most likely around July 22, when it is observed during 59% of all days.

Light rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 24% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around January 30, when it is observed during 13% of all days.

Moderate rain is the most severe precipitation observed during 19% of those days with precipitation. It is most likely around February 1, when it is observed during 10% of all days.

Types of Precipitation Throughout the Year

Relative frequency of various types of precipitation over the course of a typical year.

During the warm season, which lasts from May 8 to October 6, there is a 55% average chance that precipitation will be observed at some point during a given day. When precipitation does occur it is most often in the form of thunderstorms (74% of days with precipitation have at worst thunderstorms), light rain (14%), and moderate rain (10%).

During the cold season, which lasts from December 7 to February 24, there is a 28% average chance that precipitation will be observed at some point during a given day. When precipitation does occur it is most often in the form of light rain (43% of days with precipitation have at worst light rain), moderate rain (33%), thunderstorms (12%), and heavy rain (6%).

Warm Season Precipitation

Cold Season Precipitation

Relative frequency of various types of precipitation during the warm and cold seasons respectively.

Either snow is exceptionally unlikely to fall at any time during the year at this location or this station does not reliably report precipitation types.

The relative humidity typically ranges from 46% (comfortable) to 93% (very humid) over the course of the year, rarely dropping below 28% (dry) and reaching as high as 100% (very humid).

The air is driest around April 20, at which time the relative humidity drops below 54% (mildly humid) three days out of four; it is most humid around August 31, exceeding 90% (very humid) three days out of four.

Relative Humidity

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The average daily high (blue) and low (brown) relative humidity with percentile bands (inner bands from 25th to 75th percentile, outer bands from 10th to 90th percentile).

Dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find the weather than relative humidity because it more directly relates to whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid.

Over the course of a year, the dew point typically varies from 43°F (dry) to 77°F (oppressive) and is rarely below 25°F (dry) or above 79°F (oppressive).

There are two periods in the year that are most comfortable: The first is between January 1 and April 22 and the second is between November 4 and December 31. The air feels neither too dry nor too muggy during these periods.

Dew Point

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The daily average low (blue) and high (red) dew point with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

Over the course of the year typical wind speeds vary from 0 mph to 14 mph (calm to moderate breeze), rarely exceeding 20 mph (fresh breeze).

The highest average wind speed of 8 mph (gentle breeze) occurs around March 11, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 14 mph (moderate breeze).

The lowest average wind speed of 6 mph (light breeze) occurs around August 14, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 12 mph (gentle breeze).

Wind Speed

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The average daily minimum (red), maximum (green), and average (black) wind speed with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

Wind Directions Over the Entire Year

The fraction of time spent with the wind blowing from the various directions over the entire year. Values do not sum to 100% because the wind direction is undefined when the wind speed is zero.

Fraction of Time Spent with Various Wind Directions

The fraction of time spent with the wind blowing from the various directions on a daily basis. Stacked values do not always sum to 100% because the wind direction is undefined when the wind speed is zero.