Temperature records continue to inch up in the interior of the state, according to the compilation prepared by Paul Close at the National Weather Service station in Ruskin, which keeps track of weather and climate trends in west central Florida.
It was the hottest year on record for Plant City and Winter Haven, the second hottest for Lakeland, the fifth hottest for Bartow, the seventh hottest for Arcadia and the ninth hottest for Wauchula. This based on records that began in 1892, 1941, 1915, 1892, 1899 and 1933 respectively.
Rainfall, meanwhile, didn’t set any records in this part of the state, either for the wettest or driest years.