Climate & Weather in West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach has a tropical climate with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Sources describe the exact temperature and rainfall figures somewhat differently depending on methodology, but all agree on the same seasonal pattern: hottest in summer, mildest and driest in winter.
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Learn moreTemperature
climate-data.org (drawing on data from Palm Beach International Airport and NOAA sources) cites average monthly temperatures ranging from a January low of about 64.2°F to an August high of about 86.5°F, with an annual average around 74.9°F. Other aggregators describe the same seasonal pattern using slightly different framing (means vs. daily highs), so treat the exact number as approximate while trusting the pattern: August is consistently the hottest month, January the mildest.
Rainfall
climate-data.org puts annual precipitation at about 22.56 inches across 193.9 rainy days per year, with January the driest month (about 0.51 inches) and August the wettest (about 4.13 inches) -- a strong wet-summer, dry-winter seasonal pattern typical of South Florida's tropical climate classification. This research pass relied on one primary aggregator for the specific inches figure and did not cross-check it against a second independent total.
Hurricane Season Overlaps the Wettest Months
Atlantic hurricane season (June 1-November 30) overlaps with the region's wettest months. See flood-hurricane-risk for insurance and risk specifics tied to this period, including recent FEMA flood-map updates and the phased Citizens flood-insurance mandate.
Coastal Climate Risk Beyond Storms
Beyond named storms, West Palm Beach's coastal location and flat elevation make it susceptible to both storm-surge flooding during hurricanes and rainfall-driven inland flooding independent of any storm -- FEMA's National Risk Index puts Palm Beach County's annual expected inland-flood loss at over $178.9 million. This is a routine, ongoing risk factor for the area's climate profile, not solely a hurricane-season concern.
Key takeaways
- Tropical climate: average temperatures range roughly 64°F (January) to 87°F (August), per climate-data.org citing NOAA-sourced data from Palm Beach International Airport -- August is consistently hottest, January mildest across sources.
- Annual rainfall is estimated around 22.56 inches over roughly 194 rainy days, heavily concentrated in summer (August wettest) with January the driest month.
- Hurricane season (June 1-Nov 30) overlaps the wettest months of the year.
- Palm Beach County's estimated annual inland-flood loss exceeds $178.9 million per FEMA's National Risk Index -- a routine, not solely hurricane-driven, climate risk factor.
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