4 Things Floridians Can’t Wait to Stop Doing When August Ends

A crew of volunteers walks a stretch of Florida beach one last time before summer’s official sea turtle nest tally closes.

Not far away, an angler checks the calendar for the first legal day back on the water.

These are the things Floridians can’t wait to stop doing once August ends.

1. Hunting Deer With Only a Bow

Florida hunters in the northern and central part of the state, known to wildlife managers as Zone A, spend the first weeks of fall stalking deer with nothing but a bow, no rifles or crossbows involved.

That stretch ends right as August does.

Florida’s archery-only deer season in Zone A runs Aug. 1 through Aug. 30, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Hunters who spent the month easing through the woods with just a bow set it aside once the season closes.

Crossbow season keeps running a few more days, and muzzleloading season opens right behind it, but bow-only hunting itself is done until next year.

2. Walking the Beach for Nests

Florida’s sea turtle patrol volunteers walk the same stretch of beach every morning from mid-May through the end of summer, logging every nest and false crawl they find.

That daily walk builds the state’s whole picture of the nesting season.

Florida’s official index nesting survey covers exactly 109 days, from May 15 through Aug. 31, on 27 core beaches around the state.

Once the calendar flips to September, the researchers packing away their data sheets have already logged this year’s official tally.

That said, nesting itself keeps going.

Florida’s protected sea turtle season, covered under state and federal law, continues all the way through Oct. 31, even after the volunteers stop walking the survey beaches every morning.

3. Throwing Every Snook Back

Many Florida anglers have to release every snook they hook, no matter the size, once summer settles in.

That closure lifts right as August does.

Snook stays closed to harvest May 1 through Aug. 31 in the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay regions, and June 1 through Aug. 31 along the Northeast, Indian River Lagoon and Southeast coasts, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Harvest reopens Sept. 1 in every one of those regions, and only the Charlotte Harbor and southwest regions near Fort Myers and Naples stay closed a month longer, through Sept. 30.

4. Watching Preseason Polls Instead of Games

Florida football fans spend much of August arguing over preseason polls, hypothetical matchups, and depth charts that haven’t played a single down.

That’s a lot of debate over games that don’t exist yet.

Time’s up.

Florida State opens its season on Aug. 29 against New Mexico State, part of college football’s Week 0 slate that kicks off the fall Saturday lineup across the state.

From that point on, Floridians trade speculation for actual scoreboards.

Tax-Free Shopping Winds Down

Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday hands shoppers a full month of tax-free receipts on select clothes, school supplies and computers.

Clothes under $100, school supplies under $50, and computers under $1,500 all ring up with no sales tax during the window.

Shoppers check every receipt.

The holiday runs from July 20 through Aug. 20, and once it closes, Florida shoppers go back to paying tax on the same backpack they could’ve grabbed tax-free a week earlier.

There’s no more comparing the register total to a list.

Florida’s Hurricane Risk Keeps Growing

Florida’s hurricane season typically eases through the first three weeks of August, with warm water, calm forecasts and no named storm on the radar.

Many Floridians tune out the tropics completely during that stretch.

Not for long.

Every Aug. 20, hurricane researchers at Colorado State University ring a bell to mark what their own data shows is the start of the season’s busiest stretch, and more than 85% of major Atlantic hurricanes have historically formed after that date.

That’s the moment a calm August turns into a season Floridians watch closely.

Florida’s Heat Barely Breaks

Florida’s temperatures barely drop once August turns to September, even while so much else on the calendar changes.

Tampa’s average high in September still sits at 89 degrees, right in line with Orlando’s own September average.

Same numbers, new month.

Floridians run their air conditioning nonstop through the transition.

Many Floridians who packed away sunscreen with the pool floats in August end up digging both back out again in September, and Halloween costumes still come with a sweat problem in many years.

Snowbirds Aren’t Back Yet

Florida’s snowbird crowds are still months away when August turns into September.

The first snowbirds usually show up in October, and many wait until closer to Thanksgiving to make the drive south.

Locals still own the roads.

Condo boards up and down the coast spend late August finishing storm-shutter checks and touching up empty units, long before any part-time resident calls asking about the place.

The empty grocery store aisles and empty tee times of July are still around in early September, just with football on every television instead of golf reruns.

Snowbird plates from up north are still rare sights on Florida interstates in late August, and many driveways with a car parked under a cover won’t fill back up until closer to the holidays.

For now, the only lines Floridians wait in form outside a packed stadium, not outside a snowbird’s favorite restaurant.

A kid in Ocala looks up mid-cannonball the second the pool horn blows, and gets out of the water before the lifeguard finishes the whistle.

Nobody has to explain why. Growing up in Florida teaches you that, along with many other habits outsiders never quite catch onto.

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