According to the Köppen climate classification, Fort Lauderdale has a tropical rainforest climate . While the city does not have a true dry season, much of the seasonal rainfall comes between May and October. Winters are frequently dry and sunny, and drought can be a concern in some years.
The wet season runs from May through October, and weather is typically hot, humid, and wet with average high temperatures of 86–90 °F (30–32 °C) and lows of 73–78 °F (23–26 °C). During this period, more than half of summer days may bring brief afternoon or evening thunderstorms with lightning and bursts of intense rainfall. The record high temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) was recorded on June 22, 2009 and August 4, 1944.
The dry season often arrives some time in November, and lasts through early to mid April. Seasonable weather is often warm, dry, and sunny. Average high temperatures of 75–83 °F (24–28 °C) and lows of 60–70 °F (16–21 °C) are typical in the dry season. On rare occasion, cool fronts may make it all the way south to Fort Lauderdale, and the city will see a day or two of highs in the 60s °F (16-21 °C) and lows in the 40s °F (4-10 °C). Rare frosts occur every few decades, and only once in recorded history have snow flurries been reported in the air, which occurred on January 19, 1977. During the dry season (winter), brush fires can be a concern in many years.
Annual average precipitation is 60.95 inches (1,550 mm), with most of it occurring during the wet season from May through October. However, rainfall occurs in all months, even during the drier months from November through April. Fort Lauderdale has an average of 131 precipitation days annually. The hurricane season is between June 1 and November 30, with major hurricanes most likely to affect the city or state in September and October. The most recent storms to directly affect the city were Hurricane Irma in 2017, in addition to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma, both of which struck the city in 2005. Other direct hits were Hurricane Cleo in 1964, Hurricane King in 1950, and the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane.