FORT LAUDERDALE · JULY · THE MONTH GUIDE
July puts Fort Lauderdale’s Atlantic within two degrees of its air. The sun clears the horizon at 6:37 a.m. on July 15 and sets at 8:16 p.m., so a beach vacation here can start before breakfast and end after a late dinner. In between sits the hottest stretch of the year, with an average high of 90.0°F.
The other half of the July calendar is weather risk. The Atlantic hurricane season opened on June 1, and July falls inside it, though NOAA puts most activity between mid-August and mid-October. Port Everglades also sends cruise ships out every week of the year, and the airport feels it on departure days.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · FORT LAUDERDALE IN JULY
Go in July for bathwater swimming and long evenings, plan your days around the heat, and book refundable because the month sits inside hurricane season.
WET SEASON · INSIDE HURRICANE SEASON · SEA WITHIN 2°F OF THE AIR
Go for: ocean swims with no wetsuit, sunsets after 8 p.m., and three state parks with designated swimming areas within reach of the city.
Think twice before: booking a nonrefundable room or flight, or planning long midday walks in 90°F heat.
Climate: NOAA NCEI station USW00012849 · Sea: Open-Meteo Marine · Storms: NOAA NHC · full sources at the end
On this page
- Fort Lauderdale weather in July90.0°F highs and 10.6 rain days
- Can you swim in July?Sea at 88.1°F, measured at its daily peak
- Crowds and hotel costs in JulyCruise days and the 6% Broward room tax
- Things to do in JulyThree state parks with swimming areas
- A two-day July itineraryTwo days built around the 6:37 a.m. sunrise
- July, June or August?How the three summer months compare
- Is July a good time to visit?Who should go in July and who should wait
Neighborhoods, flights and transport stay the same all year, so they live in our Florida guides: where to stay, which airport to fly into and getting around. For a car-free trip, a Broward County Transit ride costs $2.00, and an All Day Pass costs $5.00 on the bus.
Fort Lauderdale weather in July: average highs, lows and rain days
| July normal | Value |
|---|---|
| Average high | 90.0°F |
| Average low | 77.6°F |
| Precipitation | 5.41 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 10.6 |
| Days with 1 in or more | 1.8 |
| Daylight on July 15 | 13 h 39 min |
| Sunrise / sunset, July 15 | 6:37 a.m. / 8:16 p.m. EDT |
Every air figure here is an official NOAA NCEI normal for 1991 to 2020, read from one real thermometer at station USW00012849, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International. That gauge sits at the airport, about three miles inland from the sand, and a grid-cell reanalysis would give slightly different numbers. July at the airport averages a high of 90.0°F, a low of 77.6°F and 5.41 inches of rain.
Measurable rain of 0.10 inch or more falls on 10.6 days in an average July, about one day in three. Most of those days still leave hours of dry beach time. A soaking of an inch or more comes on 1.8 days, roughly twice a month, and those are the days to keep an indoor fallback in your pocket.
Nights barely cool off: the low of 77.6°F sits 12.4°F under the high. Pack for heat at every hour, with light breathable clothes, sun protection and a compact rain shell. A thin layer earns a spot in the bag only for air-conditioned restaurants and planes.
July 15 gets about 13 hours 39 minutes of daylight, with sunrise at 6:37 a.m. and sunset at 8:16 p.m. Eastern time. The light holds past dinner, so an evening walk on the beach can start after 7 p.m. and still finish before dark.
Fort Lauderdale sea temperature in July: can you swim?
Yes, easily. Open-Meteo’s Marine API puts the sea surface off Fort Lauderdale at 88.1°F in July, averaged over 2015 to 2024. That number is a mean of daily maxima, the warmest reading of each day, so it runs a shade warmer than a 24-hour average would, and other published tables may show a lower July figure.
In practice, walking into the water brings no cold shock at all. The afternoon sea sits about 1.9°F below the 90.0°F air, so a swim cools you mostly through evaporation once you step out. An early-morning dip, before the day’s maximum, is the most refreshing one you will get.
We found no wind or wave series for July off Fort Lauderdale, so we give no surf or chop figure. Check the National Weather Service marine forecast and the NOAA National Hurricane Center outlook before each beach day, since a tropical system offshore can change sea conditions quickly.
How busy is Fort Lauderdale in July? Crowds and prices
July falls in Florida’s wet season and inside the hurricane window, both facts of the calendar. We found no hotel-rate or occupancy series for Broward County, so we crown no month cheap or expensive. Our Florida trip-cost guide covers daily budgets by tier.
Cruise schedules shape the week more than the month does. Port Everglades handled over 4.7 million cruise passengers in fiscal 2025, and it is a homeport: ships start and end their trips here. The airport and the beach hotels fill on the same two days of the week, so check the port’s sailing days before you pick arrival dates. FLL boarded 17,096,131 passengers in 2024, and the FAA classes it a large hub.
Broward County adds a 6.0% transient rental tax to rooms, filed and paid alongside Florida’s 6% state sales tax. Those two add 12% to the nightly rate. We could not verify any other local surtax, so we give no figure beyond that.
Flexibility is the line item worth extra money in July. A refundable room rate and a changeable flight let you move the trip if a tropical storm forms, and NOAA places July inside the June 1 to November 30 season. Our Florida safety guide covers storm planning.
Things to do in Fort Lauderdale in July
July gives you warm-water swimming from dawn to dusk plus the day’s longest evenings. With the sea at 88.1°F at its daily peak, snorkeling and long swims need no wetsuit, and 13 hours 39 minutes of light leave room for a beach session before the heat and another after it.
The state counts its parks precisely. Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park has 2.2 miles of beach, one designated swimming area, 2.6 miles of hiking trail, 4,531 feet of boardwalk and 1,410 parking spaces. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is smaller, with 0.1 mile of beach, one swimming area, a canoe, kayak and tube launch, 0.3 mile of trail and 275 parking spaces. Oleta River State Park, on the bay side, has 0.3 mile of beach, one swimming area, two launches and 925 parking spaces.
The July gap between water and air is small: 88.1°F against 90.0°F. In June the gap is 3.0°F, with the sea at 85.4°F under an 88.4°F high. A July swim at these parks feels less like a plunge and more like a warm soak, and shaded trails at midday give little relief from the heat.
We could not read entrance fees or opening hours for the three state parks, so we list none of them as free. Broward County also runs more than 50 regional parks, nature centers and natural areas. Check broward.org/Parks and the Florida State Parks site for fees before you go, and see our Florida things-to-do guide for trips farther afield.
Fort Lauderdale in July: a two-day itinerary
Day one. Be on the sand at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park soon after the park opens (confirm hours, we could not read them), with the sun up since 6:37 a.m. Swim in the designated area, then walk the boardwalk before 10 a.m. Spend the hottest hours indoors or in the pool. Return to the beach around 6 p.m., when the heat eases, and stay for the 8:16 p.m. sunset before a late dinner.
Day two. Launch a kayak or canoe at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park early, then swim at its beach. If the forecast carries a thunderstorm warning, get off the water and swap the paddle for an indoor afternoon, since 10.6 July days see measurable rain. With 1.8 days of an inch or more in an average month, a washed-out morning usually still leaves a usable evening.
Fort Lauderdale in July vs June and August
| Normal | June | July | August |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 88.4°F | 90.0°F | 90.0°F |
| Average low | 76.6°F | 77.6°F | 77.9°F |
| Precipitation | 9.55 in | 5.41 in | 7.89 in |
| Days with 0.10 in or more | 10.5 | 10.6 | 11.2 |
| Sea surface (daily max, 2015-2024) | 85.4°F | 88.1°F | 88.2°F |
The air normals for all three months come from the same NOAA station and period, while the sea figures come from the Open-Meteo Marine API. July matches August’s 90.0°F high and sits 1.6°F above June. Rain days barely move, from 10.5 in June to 11.2 in August, yet July’s total of 5.41 inches is 4.14 inches below June and 2.48 below August. The sea climbs 2.7°F from June to July, then adds only 0.1°F in August.
Moving four weeks earlier to June buys a slightly cooler 88.4°F high and a sea at 85.4°F, but nearly twice July’s rain. Moving four weeks later to August keeps the same heat and water while adding 2.48 inches of rain and bringing you closer to the mid-August start of peak hurricane activity. Details sit in our June and August guides.
Is July a good time to visit Fort Lauderdale?
Yes, for swimmers, snorkelers and families who spend most of the day in water and can shift activities to early mornings and evenings. No, for travelers who want to walk the city at midday, anyone who wilts at 90°F, and anyone whose dates or budget cannot absorb a storm-related change.
If the heat rules July out, aim for Florida’s dry season, November through April, which our Florida best-time guide covers month by month. You lose the bathwater sea, but you gain lower humidity and a calendar outside the hurricane window.
Among the summer months, July pairs a sea within 0.1°F of August’s with 2.48 fewer inches of rain.
The last word
The decision that shapes a July trip is the booking terms, not the beach: go refundable, avoid cruise-departure days at FLL, and give the sea your mornings. For a night closer to the water than any hotel, Oleta River State Park rents 14 cabins on the bay side of the metro area, with two paddle launches at the door.
Sources & data for this guide
- July, June and August air normals, precipitation and rain days, 1991-2020 · NOAA NCEI monthly normals, station USW00012849 (Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International) · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Station identity and inland location · NOAA NCEI Search service · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Sea surface temperature, mean of daily maxima, 2015-2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Daylight, sunrise and sunset on July 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted from UTC to Eastern time · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Hurricane season dates and peak · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Broward transient rental tax · Florida Department of Revenue, form DR-15TDT · checked Sep 24, 2026
- State park facilities · Florida DEP Recreational Facilities Inventory, 2024 report · checked Sep 24, 2026
- FLL boardings, CY2024 · Federal Aviation Administration · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Cruise passengers FY2025 · Broward County, Port Everglades · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Bus fares · Broward County Transit fares page · checked Sep 24, 2026
- County parks count · Broward County Parks and Recreation · checked Sep 24, 2026
- We could not read park entrance fees or opening hours, and we found no hotel-rate, wind or wave series for July, so none appear. Itinerary timings are editorial · check operators when you book.
To plan your stay
- Things to Do in Fort Lauderdale: Three State Parks, 14 Cabins and $2.00 Bus Fares
- Best Time to Visit Fort Lauderdale: Weather, Sea Temperature and the Quiet Months
- Fort Lauderdale in June: Weather, Sea Temperature, Rain Days and Crowds
- Fort Lauderdale in August: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and Hurricane Season