Cities Near Naples, Florida » Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The winter homes of Thomas Edison (“Seminole Lodge”) and Henry Ford (“The Mangoes”) are a primary tourist attraction in the region. The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers. The geographic statistical area is serviced by Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), located southeast of the city.
History
Architecture of Downtown Fort Myers.
Fort Myers was one of the first forts built along the Caloosahatchee River as a base of operations against the Seminole Indians during the American Indian Wars. During the Seminole Wars, Fort Myers was a strategic location for its visibility and access to Atlantic waterways.
During the American Civil War, Confederate blockade runners and cattle ranchers called Fort Myers home. These settlers prospered through trading with Seminole Indians and Union Soldiers.
Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.4 square miles (105 km2), of which 31.8 square miles (82 km2) is land and 8.6 square miles (22 km2) (21.25%) is water.
Fort Myers experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), with short warm winters, and long, hot, humid summers, with most of the year’s rain falling from June to September.
The temperature rarely rises to 100 °F (38 °C) or lowers to the freezing mark. At 89, Fort Myers leads the nation in the number of days annually in which a thunderstorm is close enough for thunder to be heard.
The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 64.2 °F (17.9 °C) in January to 83.4 °F (28.6 °C) in August, with the annual mean being 75.1 °F (23.9 °C).
Records range from 24 °F (−4 °C) on December 29, 1894 up to 103 °F (39 °C) on June 16–17, 1981.