The recent rains across South Florida, which have followed a repeating pattern over the last three weeks, first with a couple of stationary fronts keeping instability at bay and now this week, a channel of deep tropical moisture in place, have made a significant dent in the drought.
When examining the Drought Monitor report released on September 4, with a cut-off date of September 2, it indicates that the Panhandle has only a small area of abnormally dry conditions, located between the northern portions of Jefferson, Leon, and Gadsden counties. At the same time, southeast Florida was experiencing worse drought conditions, not only over highly populated areas, but also over a much larger area, which included Miami-Dade, Broward, and St. Lucie County.
Drought conditions flipped (almost)
Fast-forward to weeks later, and the drought report released on Thursday, September 18 shows huge improvement across the southeast, with almost all of Miami-Dade out of the drought and only a portion of eastern Broward, Palm Beach counties with a moderate drought, which Martin counties continues to be under a moderate drought, but likely improving for next week.
Miami International Airport has officially reached a surplus in rainfall for the year, after being over 8 inches under, even during the rainy season. For Fort Lauderdale, the year-to-date rain deficit remains, but it is not as severe as the over 13 inches below our average that it was in August. Currently, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, an official weather station in Broward County, has accumulated 32.92 inches so far this year, while the year-to-date average is 43.98 inches. It's improving.
The drought worsens in the Panhandle.
In just two weeks, the Panhandle transitioned from being on a blank map with barely any drought, except in the areas mentioned above, to the entire region, including all along I-10 and its surroundings, being under an abnormal drought. Approximately 32.5 percent of Florida is under abnormally dry conditions, with the majority of these areas located over the Panhandle. The next category is moderate drought conditions, affecting roughly 9.4 percent of the state.
But there is hope in the future. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center shows that he next 14 days are likely to remain rainier than average across Florida. The Sunshine State needs to emerge from the drought, as the rainy season is coming to a close for many areas. Across South Florida, the rainy season typically ends in late October, while in the Panhandle, rainfall continues into late September, marking the end of the average rainy season. We will continue to closely monitor the drought (and everything in between) and bring you updates.