Tampa just passed its coldest week of the year, on average. It may sound silly to say "the coldest week of the year" because Tampa is known for its warm, sunny winter days. In fact, it's fun to joke with our friends up north and say "at least we don't have to shovel out sunshine."

What You Need To Know

  • Tampa's coldest week of the year is behind us

  • The average high on February 1 is 71 degrees

  • The average high by June 1 is near 90 degrees

  • Tampa has never reached 90 degrees in January or February

Using the word "chilly" to describe Tampa weather doesn't sound natural unless we are talking about frost and temperatures in the 30s and 40s. It's happened quite a few times this season. In fact, the first half of January, with the exception of New Year's Day, was rather chilly. 

The month as a whole hasn't been that bad, though. Through January 25, Tampa ranks slightly above average for the month. The hottest day in all of January was recorded on New Year's Day at 83 degrees. Not too bad when it comes to ringing in the new year! 

Days when temperatures climb into the low 80s during the winter months are not uncommon. Floridians often use sarcasm to joke about how tough we have it in the winter. 

While 80 degrees in January seems nice, it is about ten degrees above the average high. A typical January day in Tampa should have a high temperature around 70 degrees and a low temperature around 52 degrees. 

On average, the coldest week in Tampa runs between the second and third week of January. That's when the average high is 70 degrees and the average low is 51 degrees. From here on out, the average high temperature in Tampa will climb until it reaches its peak in July.

So the big question is, how fast does Tampa warm up? Not as fast as you might think. This is largely because Gulf waters remain chilly through much of February and March, keeping our coastal cities a bit cooler.

The average high temperature on February 1 is 71 degrees. This increases slightly to 74 degrees by March 1. Tampa Bay doesn't really start warming up until April and May, when the average high temperature jumps into the 80s. 

Of course, those are averages and anomalies are to be expected here and there. So, let's check out the record highs by month for Tampa. 

It may surprise some that Tampa has no record of reaching 90 degrees during the months of January and February. A big factor has to do with the cooler Gulf waters this time of year. 

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 99 degrees during the month of June. Many people don't realize that Tampa has never officially reached 100 degrees since records began in 1890. 

Breaking the all-time high temperature does get more difficult by the time July, August, and September roll around. This is because there is so much moisture, cloud cover, and afternoon showers, which are all limiting factors in keeping Tampa from officially reaching 100 degrees in the summer.