We received a total of .90" (22.86 mm) of rain and hail out of one of the storms that passed overhead, briefly. It was enough to make everything look a little less parched.
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| Water lilies perked up in the rain, thinking maybe the end is near for the drought. In many lakes in central Florida the lilies are barely hanging on in dry lake beds. Lucky for them they've evolved to keep their main life source (their bulb) buried deep in the soil where there is hopefully some moisture remaining until the next big rain. |
More rain is predicted for tomorrow but it won't be drought-busting. By Sunday we'll be going right back into a sunny, dry and breezy period.
According to the National Weather Service Extreme Drought conditions now extend from Lake to Volusia Counties across Florida to all the west coast counties north of Ft. Myers. Severe drought conditions exist from Seminole and Northern Brevard Counties southward to Okeechobee County (see graphic above).
For the dry season (November 1 through today) we're running huge deficits in rainfall from the 30 Year Normal. These deficits are compounded by two prior years of deficits in rainfall.
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| Look closely for reflections of a flower in the raindrops. |
In the table below I've highlighted the weather stations nearest our location (within 50 miles). Most are reporting only 1/3rd normal rainfall since November 1.
STATION OBSERVED 30 YEAR DEPARTURE PERCENT OF
RAINFALL NORMAL FROM NORMAL NORMAL
DAYTONA BEACH 7.01" 16.42" -9.41" 43
ORLANDO 5.14" 14.81" -9.67" 35
MELBOURNE 9.11" 14.75" -5.64" 62
VERO BEACH 12.48" 16.29" -3.81" 77
CLERMONT 3.63" 15.91" -12.28" 23
DELAND 7.67" 17.24" -9.57" 44
SANFORD WP 6.10" 16.01" -9.91" 38
TITUSVILLE WP 6.12" 16.53" -10.41" 37
OKEECHOBEE 8.73" 13.07" -4.34" 67
FORT PIERCE ARPT 8.39" 15.66" -7.27" 54
FORT PIERCE WP 9.66" 16.42" -6.76" 59
STUART 11.33" 20.04" -8.71" 57
There is good news, however. La Niña's impacts should likely fade over the area late in the Spring with a transition to the wet season which typically begins over Florida by late May into early June.
If the wet season begins on time with more normal rainfall occurring across Central Florida, drought conditions should gradually ease into the Summer. Thus we only have maybe 4 or 5 more weeks of extreme dry conditions to deal with assuming the wet season returns as predicted.
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| More flower reflections in raindrops |
There is some disagreement on the timing and severity of the weather tracking toward Florida this afternoon, but most of the computer models agree that it should be a good soaking rain for many parts of the central peninsula.
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| This is a really fun effect. Koi in a raindrop on a blade of grass. In the graphic above the koi photo, a warm front is indicated moving north, encountering a cold front moving south, causing heavy rain over some of the most drought-stricken counties of north-central Florida. |
Below: Unfortunately, the weeks of rain we need will not come this week. By Sunday afternoon dry, breezy and sunny weather will return. Nevertheless, we'll be grateful for whatever rain falls in the interim.
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| More inverted images and reflections in some grass pink. |
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