7 Florida Cities Ranked Among 50 'Hottest' In America

A new report says several of the hottest cities in America — temperature-wise — are right here in the appropriately named Sunshine State. With parts of Florida seeing temperatures reach the 90s this month, it was only appropriate that seven Florida cities were listed among the nation's 50 warmest, according to the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St.

Texas had the most cities on the list with 17. Florida had the second-highest. Arizona claimed the top two spots with Phoenix and Tucson.

The report said Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville and Tallahassee are among the hottest cities, with Fort Myers at the top of the list and ranking at No. 21 nationwide.

Here's a breakdown of the Florida cities, according to the report.

West Palm Beach

• National Rank: 45
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 75
• Highest temp. on record: 101° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 90° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 64%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 75

Jacksonville

• National Rank: 37
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 82
• Highest temp. on record: 105° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 92° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 59%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 94

Gainesville

• National Rank: 32
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 84
• Highest temp. on record: 103° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 91° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 62%

Tampa

• National Rank: 28
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 86
• Highest temp. on record: 99° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 90° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 64%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 101

Tallahassee

• National Rank: 26
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 91
• Highest temp. on record: 105° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 92° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 61.0%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 102

Orlando

• National Rank: 23
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 97
• Highest temp. on record: 101° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 92° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 59%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 89

Fort Myers

• National Rank: 21
• Days per year with 90+ temp.: 99
• Highest temp. on record: 103° F
• Normal mid-summer high: 92° F
• Mid-summer afternoon humidity: 61%
• Avg. sunny days per year: 98

The report, which only looked at cities with populations of at least 10,000, ranked the cities based on the average number of 90-plus degree days per year. The authors used climate data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Excessive heat is blamed for more than 600 deaths in the U.S. every year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat can cause people to experience illnesses including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which happen when the body can no longer properly cool itself.

"While the body normally cools itself by sweating, during extreme heat, this might not be enough," the agency wrote on its website. "In these cases, a person's body temperature rises faster than it can cool itself down. This can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs."

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