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Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
82% of Florida experiencing drought conditions. See worst areas and whether rain expected soon
More than 82% of Florida is suffering from drought conditions ranging from moderate to extreme, according to NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. Two areas of extreme drought exist in the state, with the largest in South Florida now extending from coast to coast. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location The drought is keeping the number of wildfires burning in the state high, with 102 burning Friday, May 2, according to the Florida Fire Service. There is a possibility of rain this weekend. There are 23 counties under burn bans, almost one-third of the state's 67 counties. The mean statewide drought index is at 488. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System said 82.2 percent of Florida is under drought conditions, ranging from moderate to extreme. ➤ '80% of homes lost to wildfires could have been saved.' Here's what you can do The breakdown of drought conditions in the state, which affects 16.6 million residents, is: Abnormally dry: 16.5% Moderate drought: 35.5% Severe drought: 29.9% Extreme drought: 16.9% Exceptional drought: 0% ➤ Maps: See drought conditions by county "Rainfall deficits over the last 90 days have reached widespread of 2-4" inches below normal throughout most of the state, with areas north of and along the I-10 corridor as well as much of South Florida seeing larger departures near 4-8' below normal," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Even North Florida and the Panhandle is seeing abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought. The Climate Prediction Center is "predicting above-normal temperatures for the entire state and leaning below normal rain chances throughout the Big Bend and the Peninsula for the month of May," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Rain chances are expected to increase for some areas over the weekend, though, especially on the state's west coast and east-central Florida, according to the National Weather Service. There were 16 active wildfires burning as of Friday morning. The largest fires in the state are: Hurst Hammock Fire: 200 acres in Escambia County. 80% contained Sidell East Fire: 34 acres in Manatee County. 90% contained Crooked Creek Lane Fire: 25 acres in Hardee County. 80% contained "Wildfire names are generally based on the geographic location of the fire or a nearby geographic feature," according to Tim Brown, communications manager with the Florida Forest Service, in an email. "For example, the '344 Fire' was due to its location near 344 Street." Don't look for any rain Friday for most of Florida, but isolated showers — only 20% chances — are possible in the morning and early afternoon south of Patrick Space Force Base. Isolated showers and lightning storms are possible near the St. Lucie/Martin County coasts, according to the National Weather Service Melbourne. Western Panhandle, Pensacola: Mostly sunny. High 80. Low 72. Central Panhandle, Tallahassee: Mostly sunny. High 87. Low 63. Northeast Florida, Jacksonville: Mostly sunny. High 87. Low 67. East Coast, Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Stuart: Slight chance for showers in the morning, then partly sunny. High 82. Low 69. South Florida, West Palm Beach, Naples: Slight chance for showers in the morning, then partly sunny. High 77. Low 75. Southwest Florida, Fort Myers to Sarasota: Mostly sunny. High 80. Low 71. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index mean for Florida was 488 on May 2. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. As of May 1, there were 14 counties with a drought index over 600, which means severe drought conditions with an increased risk for wildfires. There were 17 Florida counties with a mean Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500, which means drought or increased fire danger. Here are the counties with a drought index over 600, which is associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurring: Counties in bold were just added to each section. Broward: 622 Charlotte: 639 Collier: 656 DeSoto: 612 Glades: 627 Hardee: 638 Hendry: 658 Lake: 611 Lee: 668 Manatee: 628 Miami-Dade: 622 Monroe: 622 Palm Beach: 645 Sarasota: 634 Counties with drought index in the 500s: Brevard: 547 Citrus: 515 Flagler: 543 Hernando: 530 Highlands: 593 Hillsborough: 578 Marion: 505 Martin: 594 Okeechobee: 561 Orange: 576 Osceola: 528 Pasco: 599 Pinellas: 530 Polk: 587 Seminole: 579 Sumter: 590 Volusia: 593 Another eight of Florida's 67 counties have index numbers in the 400s. Here's an explanation of what the Keetch-Byram Drought Index numbers mean, according to the Wildland Fire Assessment System. 0-200: Soil moisture and large-class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation. 200-400: Typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity. 400-600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers actively contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. 600-800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. According to the Florida Forest Service, as of May 2, 23 burn bans are in place for the following counties: Brevard Charlotte Citrus Collier DeSoto Flagler Glades Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Lake Lee Manatee Okeechobee Orange Osceola Pasco Polk Sarasota Seminole Sumter Volusia The open burning of yard debris is always prohibited in these counties: Duval Hillsborough Orange Pinellas We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida drought, dry weather has Wildfires burning. Will it rain soon?
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Another Florida county issues burn ban as drought worsens. Is rain on its way?
The number of wildfires burning across Florida jumped to 107 Thursday, May 1. That's seven more fires than were reported just 24 hours ago and it's a reflection of the extremely dry conditions being felt across Florida, especially along the peninsula. Don't get your hopes up too much, but increased chances for rain may be coming this weekend for some areas. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Three separate areas are suffering from extreme drought conditions, according to NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. Extreme drought conditions have expanded in South Florida, moving farther into Collier and Hendry counties. As of Thursday, May 1, there were 107 wildfires burning across Florida, burning 3,474 acres. The number of counties issuing burn bans also has increased, with the total now up to 23, almost one-third of the state. The mean statewide drought index is at 482, up five points since April 30. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System posted on X conditions across the state range from abnormally dry to extreme drought. "Some areas have precip deficits over 6' in the last 90 days. Little to no precip is expected for at least another week." A total of 51.8% of the state are under drought conditions." ➤ '80% of homes lost to wildfires could have been saved.' Here's what you can do The breakdown of drought conditions in the state, which affects 14 million residents, is: Abnormally dry: 41.9% Moderate drought: 18.5% Severe drought: 28.5% Extreme drought: 4.9% Exceptional drought: 0% ➤ Maps: See drought conditions by county "Rainfall deficits over the last 90 days have reached widespread of 2-4" inches below normal throughout most of the state, with areas north of and along the I-10 corridor as well as much of South Florida seeing larger departures near 4-8' below normal," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Even North Florida — with the exception of the western Panhandle — which has gotten more rain than most of Florida's peninsula, is starting to see "emerging drought" conditions. The Climate Prediction Center is "predicting above-normal temperatures for the entire state and leaning below normal rain chances throughout the Big Bend and the Peninsula for the month of May," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Rain chances are expected to increase for some areas over the weekend, though, especially on the state's west coast and east-central Florida, according to the National Weather Service. There were 16 active wildfires burning as of Thursday morning. The largest fires in the state are: Hurst Hammock Fire: 200 acres in Escambia County. 0% contained Sidell East Fire: 34 acres in Manatee County. 85% contained Crooked Creek Lane Fire: 25 acres in Hardee County. 80% contained "Wildfire names are generally based on the geographic location of the fire or a nearby geographic feature," according to Tim Brown, communications manager with the Florida Forest Service, in an email. "For example, the '344 Fire' was due to its location near 344 Street." It'll be warm and dry through Friday along Florida's west coast, according to the National Weather Service Tampa Bay. Rain chances increase over the weekend and into next week. The "long stretch of dry weather" are expected to continue in South Florida, according to the National Weather Service Miami. In east-central Florida, the forecast is for mostly dry weather to continue through Friday. Chances for showers and lightning storms increase over the weekend. In North Florida, warm and dry conditions are forecast to last through Friday, according to the National Weather Service Jacksonville. Western Panhandle, Pensacola: Partly sunny, slight chance for thunderstorms. High 80. Low 73. Central Panhandle, Tallahassee: Partly sunny. High 85. Low 64. Northeast Florida, Jacksonville: Mostly sunny. High 84. Low 66. East Coast, Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Stuart: Mostly sunny. High 81. Low 69. South Florida, West Palm Beach, Naples: Mostly sunny. High 77. Low 74. Southwest Florida, Fort Myers to Sarasota: Partly sunny. High 80. Low 69. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index mean for Florida was 482 on May 1. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. As of May 1, there were 14 counties with a drought index over 600, which means severe drought conditions with an increased risk for wildfires. There were 16xx Florida counties with a mean Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500, which means drought or increased fire danger. Here are the counties with a drought index over 600, which is associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurring: Counties in bold were just added to each section. Broward: 618 Charlotte: 636 Collier: 653 DeSoto: 608 Glades: 624 Hardee: 635 Hendry: 655 Lake: 608 Lee: 665 Manatee: 624 Miami-Dade: 618 Monroe: 619 Palm Beach: 642 Sarasota: 630 Counties with drought index in the 500s: Brevard: 542 Citrus: 510 Flagler: 538 Hernando: 524 Highlands: 588 Hillsborough: 574 Martin: 590 Okeechobee: 556 Orange: 571 Osceola: 522 Pasco: 595 Pinellas: 525 Polk: 583 Seminole: 575 Sumter: 586 Volusia: 589 Another nine of Florida's 67 counties have index numbers in the 400s. Here's an explanation of what the Keetch-Byram Drought Index numbers mean, according to the Wildland Fire Assessment System. 0-200: Soil moisture and large-class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation. 200-400: Typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity. 400-600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers actively contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. 600-800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. According to the Florida Forest Service, as of May 1, 23 burn bans are in place for the following counties: Brevard Charlotte Citrus Collier DeSoto Flagler Glades Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Lake Lee Manatee Okeechobee Orange Osceola Pasco Polk Sarasota Seminole Sumter Volusia The open burning of yard debris is always prohibited in these counties: Duval Hillsborough Orange Pinellas We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida drought: 107 wildfires, 23 burn bans. See rain forecast
