The month of August, as well as the summer overall, were the wettest on record for the Sarasota and Bradenton region, according to a climate summary from the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
It rained a total of 47.32 inches over the summer in Sarasota-Bradenton , the highest rainfall total in 2024 for an area in West Central and Southwest Florida. The figure includes rainfall between June 1 and Aug. 31. Normal summer rainfall for the area is 23.55 inches, according to the weather service data.
The Sarasota-Bradenton area also saw 23.55 inches of rain in August alone, compared with the normal total of 9.11 inches. The figure doesn’t include rainfall that was not captured on Aug. 5 because of equipment failure, but local rain gauges indicate that 3-4 inches of rain on that date would increase the total August and summer rainfall even more.
Venice also saw its wettest August on record with a total of 21.96 inches of rain. Normal rain in August for Venice is 8.34 inches.
September is also off to a wet start, with 2.76 inches record in the first five days, more than an inch greater than the normal 1.53 inches by this point in the month.