Rainy weather eases Central Florida drought and wildfire fears

Yahoo

12-05-2025

After one of the driest Aprils on record, Central Florida has received enough rain in just the past few days to stem drought conditions and ease wildfire worries that started in late March.
Through Sunday, a total of more than 4.3 inches of rain has fallen near downtown Orlando in May, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. The typical tally for the first eleven days of the month is about one inch.
On Saturday, flights were delayed at Orlando International Airport because of heavy thunderstorms.
The rainy skies are part of a weak cold front that has been moving across the southeastern United States carrying a line of showers through Central Florida, according to Tim Sedlock, a meteorologist with the weather service.
In South Florida — which was under extreme drought conditions last week — the same weather system could dump as much as 10 inches of rain within a 24-hour period through Tuesday, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. A flood watch was in effect for Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
The rainy weather likely won't stick around Central Florida, however. The storm system is expected to move out of the region by early Tuesday. It will be replaced by drier and hotter conditions for the next several days, Sedlock said.
But the May showers were welcomed after Central Florida experienced its driest April since 2017 and second driest since 1981, with less than half an inch of rain the entire month. Residents saw small ponds nearly dry and lawns turn brown.
On May 1, there were 85 wildfires burning in Florida, but that number had dropped to 40 on Monday, including three blazes in Osceola County, according to the Florida Forest Service. Most were contained fires.
'That's good news for fire departments,' said Doreen Overstreet, a spokeswoman for the Seminole County Fire Department, of the several days of rain.
Seminole's department in recent weeks moved trucks, equipment and manpower to wooded rural areas in case wildfires took spark.
A week ago, Seminole and portions of Orange were experiencing moderate drought conditions. And portions of Lake, Volusia and Marion counties were labeled with extreme drought, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly drought monitor.
The lack of rain coupled with higher-than-normal temperatures and breezy days led to Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Lake and Volusia counties to implement burn bans that prohibit lighting fires outdoors. Burn bans are automatically activated by Florida counties whenever the Keetch-Byram Drought Index — a scale that measures the dryness of the soil — reaches or exceeds 500.
But as of Monday, the index showed Orange County was at 382, Osceola at 453, Seminole at 354 and Volusia at 439. Lake County, however, was just over 500.
It's likely many of those burn bans will soon be lifted.
'Technically, we are not enforcing it,' Overstreet said of Seminole's burn ban that was put in place March 28. 'It expires on Thursday.'
Orange's ban also would be lifted Thursday if its index remains under 500, according to county spokeswoman Kelly Finkelstein.
When the storm system system moves out, high temperatures on Tuesday are forecast to reach 86 degrees, and the lows drop to 67, according to the weather service. Skies will be mostly sunny with a 20% chance of rain.
On Wednesday, we can expect even warmer and drier conditions as high pressure slides into the area. Temperatures are expected to climb to 88 degrees and then drop to 67 at night.
Then Thursday through Saturday, the forecast is for sunny weather with the temperatures reaching into the mid-90s each day.
'Most of the wet weather systems will be kept to the north,' Sedlock said.
The region's official rainy season — when residents experience regular afternoon thunderstorms and thick humidity — doesn't start until May 27.