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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "Tallahassee" redirects here. For other uses, see Tallahassee (disambiguation).
| Tallahassee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — State Capital — | |||
| City of Tallahassee | |||
 | |||
| |||
| Nickname(s): Tally | |||
| Motto: Florida's Capital City / The 850 | |||
 Location in Leon County and the state of Florida | |||
Coordinates:  30°27′06″N 84°16′6.72″WCoordinates: 30°27′06″N 84°16′6.72″W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Florida | ||
| County | Leon | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | John Marks | ||
| Area | |||
| • State Capital | 103.1 sq mi (267.029 km2) | ||
| • Land | 100.6 sq mi (260.554 km2) | ||
| • Water | 2.5 sq mi (6.475 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 203 ft (62 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • State Capital | 181,376 (128th) | ||
| • Urban | 232,398 | ||
| • Metro | 367,413 | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 32300-32399 | ||
| Area code(s) | 850 | ||
| FIPS code | 12-70600[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0308416[2] | ||
| Website | talgov.com | ||
/ˌtæləˈhæsi/) is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States.[3] Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 181,376 ,[4] and the Tallahassee metropolitan area is 367,413.[5]Tallahassee is one of Florida's most prominent college cities, and is home to several colleges and universities, most notably Florida State University and Florida A&M University. Other schools in Tallahassee include Tallahassee Community College and branches of Saint Leo University, Thomas University, Keiser University, Barry University, and Flagler College.
Tallahassee is a regional center for trade and agriculture in the Florida Panhandle, and is served by Tallahassee Regional Airport. With one of the fastest growing manufacturing and high tech economies in Florida,[6] its major private employers include a General Dynamics Land Systems manufacturing facility (military and combat applications), the Municipal Code Corporation, which specializes in the publication of municipal and county legal references; and a number of national law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations and professional associations, including the Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.[7] It is recognized as a regional center for scientific research, and is home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and highest-powered magnet research laboratory in the world.
Geography
[14] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 98.2 square miles (254.3 km2), of which, 95.7 square miles (247.9 km2) of it is land and 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) of it (2.59%) is water.
Lake Talquin; the lake's name is a portmanteau of "Tallahassee" and neighboring "Quincy", Florida Tallahassee's terrain is hilly by Florida standards, being located at the southern end of the Red Hills Region, just above the Cody Scarp. The elevation varies from near sea level to just over 200 feet (61 m), with the state capitol located on one of the highest hills in the city. The city also includes two large lake basins, Lake Jackson and Lake Lafayette, and borders the northern end of the Apalachicola National Forest.The flora and fauna are more typical of those found in the mid-south and low country regions of South Carolina and North Carolina. Although some palm trees grow in the city, they are the more cold-hardy varieties like the state tree, the Sabal Palmetto. Pines, magnolias, and a variety of oaks are the dominant trees. Of the latter, the Southern Live Oak is perhaps the most emblematic of the city.
[edit] Climate
Lake Ella is a popular Tallahassee recreational park Tallahassee has a hot and humid subtropical climate, with long summers and mild, short winters. Summers in Tallahassee are hotter than in the Florida peninsula, and it is one of the few cities in the state to occasionally record temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C). The all-time record high for Tallahassee of 105 °F (40.5 °C) was set on June 15, 2011.[15] The summer weather is characterized by brief intense showers and thunderstorms that form along the afternoon sea breeze from the Gulf of Mexico. The average high temperature in July (the hottest month of the year) is 92 °F(32 °C). Conversely, the city is much cooler in the winter. In 1899 the city reached -2 °F (-19 °C) (the only sub-zero Fahrenheit reading in Florida to date) during the Great Blizzard of 1899.
Autumn Colors in Downtown Tallahassee In December and January, the average high temperature is 64 °F (18°C) and the average low is 42°F (6°C). On occasion, temperatures fall into the 15 to 25 °F (-9 to -4 °C) range at night, and though very rare, temperatures in the single digits (below -12°C) have been recorded. Over the last 100 years, the city has also recorded several snowfalls; the heaviest was 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) on February 13, 1958. A white Christmas occurred in 1989, and in 1993 there were traces of snow and high winds. Historically, the city usually records at least observed flurries every three to four years, but on average, measurable amounts of snow 1.0 inch (2.5 cm) occur only every 17 years. The last measurable snowfall took place in December 1989. The natural snow line (regular yearly snowfalls) ends 200 miles (320 km) to the north at Macon, Georgia. In addition, the city averages 34 nights where the temperature falls below freezing.[16] The coldest temperature in Florida history was recorded in the city before the Great Blizzard of 1899, when it dropped to −2 °F (−19 °C) on February 13.Although several hurricanes have brushed Tallahassee with their outer rain and wind bands, in recent years only Hurricane Kate, in 1985, has struck Tallahassee directly. The Big Bend area of North Florida sees several tornadoes each year during the season, but none have hit Tallahassee in living memory. In extreme heavy rains, some low-lying parts of Tallahassee may flood, notably the Franklin Boulevard area adjacent to the downtown and the Killearn Lakes subdivision (which is not within the city limits proper) on the north side.
| [hide]Climate data for Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Regional Airport), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) | 89 (32) | 91 (33) | 95 (35) | 102 (39) | 105 (41) | 104 (40) | 103 (39) | 102 (39) | 95 (35) | 88 (31) | 84 (29) | 105 (41) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 63.7 (17.6) | 67.7 (19.8) | 74.0 (23.3) | 80.1 (26.7) | 87.2 (30.7) | 91.2 (32.9) | 92.3 (33.5) | 91.7 (33.2) | 88.6 (31.4) | 81.6 (27.6) | 73.2 (22.9) | 65.6 (18.7) | 79.74 (26.52) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 39.0 (3.9) | 41.9 (5.5) | 47.1 (8.4) | 52.3 (11.3) | 61.6 (16.4) | 69.5 (20.8) | 72.0 (22.2) | 72.1 (22.3) | 68.1 (20.1) | 57.3 (14.1) | 47.5 (8.6) | 41.1 (5.1) | 55.79 (13.22) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 6 (−14) | −2 (−19) | 20 (−7) | 29 (−2) | 34 (1) | 46 (8) | 57 (14) | 57 (14) | 40 (4) | 29 (−2) | 13 (−11) | 10 (−12) | −2 (−19) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 4.34 (110.2) | 4.84 (122.9) | 5.92 (150.4) | 3.06 (77.7) | 3.47 (88.1) | 7.73 (196.3) | 7.28 (184.9) | 7.34 (186.4) | 4.68 (118.9) | 3.23 (82) | 3.49 (88.6) | 3.90 (99.1) | 59.29 (1,506) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 8.9 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 13.6 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 8.5 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 8.1 | 111.2 |
 Source: NOAA (normals, extremes from 1892-2012)[17] | |||||||||||||
This post has been edited by Ian Williams: 05 March 2012 - 13:45
