DRY DRY DRY

[gsytch]

We finally received a good amount of rain today, 0.84"! Hope this trend continues and that it rains in New Port Richey soon.

Lucky you! It rained for 4 minutes. I woke up ab out an hour ago and it has been booming in the Gulf since then. I'm appx a mile from the GOM. It is MUCH cooler this morning. About 73F right now. My 20' Crepe Myrtle was wilted yesterday. Maybe today is my day? Fingers crossed. We had about 3" for June but half of that fell on June 1st.

[Moose]

It was always my assumption that the Fla. West Coast got about the same amount of precipitation as the Florida East Coast. Looks like I was wrong

[Bill H2DB]

Re Fla dryness : Persistent SW flow for a lot of this year so far means that the storms have tended to develop east of the Gulf coast , and

dump rain across the state , and make it to the east coast in late afternoon.

Many years though , in which the Bermuda High develops well , produce a SE flow that results in the opposite pattern.

Each year has periods of each , although one will dominate overall.

Coastal weather is affected by this , while inland areas benefit pretty much either way .

Looks like the SE pattern will return for a few days later this week . Good for me , because we here need to dry out a bit

and have our sea breeze back for a while .

[palmsOrl]

We could still use rain here north of Orlando. My location keeps missing most of the heavier storms, getting light rain totals or just sprinkles. Not the worst rainy season by a long shot (overall rain totals not far from normal), but certainly not the best.

[gsytch]

Yeah the radar lit up for a number of days...poured at my gym for 10 mins deluge...ZERO here. Nada. Nothing. Has not rained other than a brief light shower in 11 days. ZERO. It is like playing games. I mean daily watering. I am sure those in orlando and east are getting soaked.

[Alicehunter2000]

Well after our epic spring rains....we've had nearly drought conditions this summer. Hasn't rained in almost a month. Watering 3-4 times a week.

[gsytch]

Well after our epic spring rains....we've had nearly drought conditions this summer. Hasn't rained in almost a month. Watering 3-4 times a week.

Same here. Ive had zero in July (other than a few brief showers or drizzle, not even wet under trees) yet a friend of mine in Land O Lakes is sick of the rain. Its like 15 mi away! We have had some cloud cover - hazy stuff - which helps a little. Bizarre pattern as some places are getting drenched daily and others, like us, get nothing. Thunders for hours here every day. Zero.

[Moose]

A friend of mine in North Tampa area recorded 4.34 inches of rain in the last week. He has been complaining of no rain for over a month. Hope you got some of it.

[gsytch]

I have got rain, some, total 7/10" in two rains Fri and Sat evenings. Thundered for hours today. Zero. So, July has not even hit an inch. I look at the radar, watch the storms come close. then die or just miss. Constantly. I water with thunder booming. Unreal. This is a bizarre rainy season (or lack of). We need a good downpour. It has been weeks since it rained heavy. Weeks. :-((

[Silas_Sancona]

Same story, ....AGAIN, here today.. Lots of thunder, dark skies and a couple gust fronts.. but, as has been the case over the past few weeks.. not a drop. The TWO waves of storms which looked real good as they approached today, fell apart or pulled northwest as they reached Bradenton. Any rainfall we have had since the beginning of June hasn't surpassed .75 while 1-3+ inches have fallen repeatedly in spots just east or north of the area. Pretty sad that this is the " peak of the rainy season" and I am throwing the hose around twice a week. Even with the lack of rainfall, Mosquitoes are biting in droves.

Saw a long range forecast going into August and it isn't looking good. Hot and dry.. Sarasota already broke a record of 97F a couple weeks ago. Think Tampa also hit a record high around the same time. After a weak (at best) easterly component to the flow over the weekend, Wind pattern switches back to southwesterly this week.

-Nathan-

Edited July 14, 2014 by Silas_Sancona

[gsytch]

Same story, ....AGAIN, here today.. Lots of thunder, dark skies and a couple gust fronts.. but, as has been the case over the past few weeks.. not a drop. The TWO waves of storms which looked real good as they approached today, fell apart or pulled northwest as they reached Bradenton. Any rainfall we have had since the beginning of June hasn't surpassed .75 while 1-3+ inches have fallen repeatedly in spots just east or north of the area. Pretty sad that this is the " peak of the rainy season" and I am throwing the hose around twice a week. Even with the lack of rainfall, Mosquitoes are biting in droves.

Saw a long range forecast going into August and it isn't looking good. Hot and dry.. Sarasota already broke a record of 97F a couple weeks ago. Think Tampa also hit a record high around the same time. After a weak (at best) easterly component to the flow over the weekend, Wind pattern switches back to southwesterly this week.

-Nathan-

Nathan you are spot on! This is not only a bizarre rainy season, but the same areas get hit time and again. I mean, what are the chances with all the radar activity that it thunders for hours, day in and out, and we get zero. I have not seen a rainfall of more than 6/10" since about first week of june. What has fallen has been pitiful. My hose is going on strike. I even watered the front lawn because it was browning.

[Alicehunter2000]

Same here...hit and miss....my area has been miss.

[Silas_Sancona]

Another day, another complete miss.. Guess the winds decided to shift southwesterly a day earlier than forecasted. As weird as the pattern has been lately, gotta say that it has provided some very impressively dramatic sunsets. Overall, the rainfall pattern so far this summer reminds me of what I experienced while in Phoenix last August, minus dust storms they can get when a dry gust front passes through.

Regardless, even without the daily rainfall, all 4 arms on my 2' tall Aloe Plicatilis decided to suddenly rot off last week, despite being kept in light shade from noon on, and watered once a month. Haven't had the heart to dispose of what remains yet.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

Well, the heavens finally opened on me. Beginning last night around 7pm through noon today, rounds of heavy showers and storms marched through off the GOM. Total rainfall just shy of 2 inches - more than I received the prior four weeks combined. Now, do not go away. Let's keep SOME moisture around here and there. I am thankful for what I received. My plants are absolutely in joy!

[gsytch]

and the rainy season shuts off once again....since the heavy rains of early Thursday morning, not a drop and barely a cloud. Yesterday and last night, hours of thunder and a radar lit up. Hose out once again. Same areas inland and to the east seem to be getting plentiful rainfall, while here on the coast, it is becoming dry. This is a bizarre rainy season (or lack of). All my July rainfall came from 7/15 8pm thru 7/17 stopping at about 4am. Nothing before or since (except for a brief light shower). A persistent westerly fetch is the culprit. No SE flow this summer. Strange indeed.

[JimStPete]

Very dry here on the coast in St. Pete too. Total for June was 2.2 inches (normal 6-8 inches). So far for July, 2.99 inches. The wind has been consistently blowing in from the southwest and west moving all the storms that form over land inland and away from us. Thankfully the areas where St. Pete gets it's water supply from are inland where they are getting soaked, so water restrictions have been relaxed to allow 2 days a week watering (I use shallow well water, city water is way too expensive to use for irrigation on a big yard). Thankfully we had above normal rain this winter through May, then the rain shut off. I definitely hear thunder all around us almost every day, but no rain in my garden. Hopefully the wind pattern will change soon before the rainy season comes to an end.

[gsytch]

Very dry here on the coast in St. Pete too. Total for June was 2.2 inches (normal 6-8 inches). So far for July, 2.99 inches. The wind has been consistently blowing in from the southwest and west moving all the storms that form over land inland and away from us. Thankfully the areas where St. Pete gets it's water supply from are inland where they are getting soaked, so water restrictions have been relaxed to allow 2 days a week watering (I use shallow well water, city water is way too expensive to use for irrigation on a big yard). Thankfully we had above normal rain this winter through May, then the rain shut off. I definitely hear thunder all around us almost every day, but no rain in my garden. Hopefully the wind pattern will change soon before the rainy season comes to an end.

Yes, those westerlies have left us high and dry while inland area to the east are swimming in rainfall. I am constantly watering now. Bizarre in July. They say it will "dry up some this week". Drier than zero? Jeez!

[Alicehunter2000]

Well we got a bunch last week....finally. Plants are poppin.

[Moose]

Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade Counties have had an incredible rainy July. Everything is so lush looking, we have been blessed. Hurricanes - please stay away!

[gsytch]

Yeppers...not a drop here. Zero. Nada. Thunders. Dark inland. Zero in my yard. My 20 foot Crepe Myrtle wilted again today. I am not even fertilizing because it is so damn dry in the soil. Since late June, it's rained twice (once was very heavy but with ground this dry....) Just watering daily while thunder is heard....Bizarre.

[Silas_Sancona]

Same here, and down where I work in Sarasota.. Couple drops at the house, and a 10 second mist at the Nursery.. Hose is getting tired.. Can't throw enough water at the stuff at the Nursery. All this while 2" fell in St. Pete. Think I lost the same amount in sweat working today.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

and the dry summer keeps on keepin' on..yesterday, was in a deluge in Clearwater. I get home to - sunshine. A little shower fell. Thundered inland as I watered everything, again. Take away the two days of heavy rain week and half ago, and July has given less than an inch total. Even with that heavy rain we are not at 3.5". East coast keeps getting killed. Pattern has not budged all summer.

[Silas_Sancona]

..and it isn't looking good going into August either. Same southwesterly flow looks to keep most of the soil penetrating rains east of 75 for at least the next 10-12 days, maybe even longer. After checking out the latest long range update from the CPC, winter looks interesting. On a side note, at least Phoenix has been getting some rain. Go figure, lol.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

The only hope is another front is dropping down to So Ga, and the flow under it (much like last time) might enhance moisture. I am actually watering my lawn. It is brown. The rain we had 1 1/2 weeks ago was in torrents. 10 days of zero rainfall and hot sun = ouch! This is so bizarre. Yet friends of mine in Land O Lakes and Odessa say they are wet. Almost daily. Zero here.

[gsytch]

awakened by a t-storm at 5am. STILL did not rain. I am hopeful for today as that front is dropping into N Fla (unusual)...then 2 days of dry air. Drier than what? Total rain last 12 days - .20"..yes 1/5 of an inch. Poured twice yesterday in my travels inland. Ahhhh maybe one day it will rain decently, and not shut off.

[Silas_Sancona]

A brief, heavy shower right around 7:30 pm, gone in 10.. no rain until maybe the weekend.. IF a forecasted switch to an easterly set up happens. 86F Monday morning when I left for work, 84F tues. morning.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

We got about an hour of rain in some storms, with 6/10" total. No downpours, and already the dry yard looks drier. I need a nice deluge to penetrate through everything, incl shadehouses. However, I am thankful for any rain. Chances increase Fr-Sun and it is an east-SE flow which usually gives us the heaviest rains. 60% chances, and possibly higher Saturday. Today, it is Hillsborough south so maybe you can get some. I was out in eastern Pasco on Monday, and gullies were full. Swamps full. Not fair! That said, fingers crossed! Hot and drier next week. Drier than what?

[Silas_Sancona]

Slightly drier air (if that's possible) today with occasional clouds drifting up from showers way down south. At this point, i'll believe the forecast for the weekend when it pours at the house both days. Did see that the pattern shift over the next 3-4 days, will be short lived.. Heard today that Sarasota recorded it's 3rd?? driest July on record while in Tampa, July was their 8th wettest?.. Craziness.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

Whatever rains did fall on Tuesday are long gone now. Two days of cloudless hot sun, dewpoints in the 60's? (really?) and today, cloudless and DP 72F..I know about the prediction...wetter! I am sick of this dryness. If one more weatherman says, "well, another wet day"....I will scream! Come here and say that! Bring your sunscreen...

[gsytch]

There is our best chances today thru Monday. NWS says convergence beginning around Tampa Bay/Pinellas yet still have inland E of 75 70% with the "beaches" 40-50%. After the three past BONE DRY CLOUDLESS days, I need something. Real badly. Suppose to meander back W in the evening...yeah to die as it approaches I am sure. When I was in Odessa this week, the sides of the roads are flooded and full.

[Moose]

Can't find the July precipitation totals from NOAA. June recorded 19.62 " at Miami International Airport, which I am 2 miles south of. 7th wettest June for that station which began collecting data in 1911. I knew it was a wet season but I had no idea the totals were that much.

[palmsOrl]

Getting dry here yet again here in the Orlando area. Very erratic rainy season setup this season. My particular spot has overall come in near average, looking at monthly averages. But we keep getting interruptions for whatever meteorological regions. I'm over having to water despite reports of such wet weather.

[Silas_Sancona]

Another night.. another miss, aside from a brief shower. Lots of lightning and heavier rain off to the south, and moving S.W. off Anna Maria. Had lined up nicely from just east of 75 down into Port Charlotte but all storms just to our east blew apart as they approached, a broken record so far this summer here.. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Chances drop to 20% from Wednesday on according to the forecast at 6.

-Nathan-

[gsytch]

Same here. Once again, Land O Lakes/New Tampa got hit twice. Me, zero. Lots of thunder, wind. They fell apart as they approached here, too. After the first thunderstorm missed, I went out and watered. Again. This is insane.

[gsytch]

been thundering for the last hour. Radar shows a seabreeze front line from Citrus Co down to St Pete - conveniently about 10-15 miles W of the GOM. I hear it. I see it. Then, I go out and just finished watering. Again. and Again.....

[gsytch]

It finally rained Mon morning. Good storm came ashore with about an inch of rain. Heaviest in a long time. However, it has been so dry, there was a gully in my yard flowing. Tonight I just watered the shadehouses, as it has been sunny, dry and hot since. As usual. This summer is a BEAST. Driest in my recall memory!

[Silas_Sancona]

Another week complete, very little in the rain gauge. Good 30 min downpour on Monday at work in Sarasota but that was it.. Hot n' dry, rainfall-wise.

-Nathan-

[Zeeth]

Rain has seemed to fall everywhere in Sarasota except my house. The grass is all brown and dead from the lack of rain and I've been hand watering all the palms multiple times per week.

[gsytch]

It has just kept pouring here since overnight Sunday. Six plus inches in about 48 hours. Last week, it rained three times for two inches. This is the craziest weather. You guys are still crying bone dry (as I was) and now, I could use a few dry days. The forecast for Wed and Thur here is 60% plus chances. It has been HEAVY. Here's hoping I can send some down your way. I've had plenty for now. :)

[JimStPete]

Still no real rain in my neighborhood. Total for August so far is .31" and we're almost half way through the month. Again, I'm thankful I can run the the shallow well sprinklers 2 days a week through this very long, hot, dry summer. Most of the past 10 years we were only allowed one day a week watering and stuff just barely hung on. Twice a week is enough to keep everything growing well. It would still be nice to get some rain to wash all the plants/trees off and set back the pests that thrive in the hot dry weather. More than likely it's going to take a tropical storm/hurricane to change the weather pattern we've had since late May (even for a few days) to shift the winds from Southwest off of the Gulf of Mexico to east winds that push the storms that develop over land (in the heat) toward those of us that live near the coast.