Rain Machine

[gsytch]

The rain machie shut off. Two weeks now without any rain, and almost no clouds to speak of. After an unusually cool 66F MOnday morning, it is hot and humid once again but still, no noise or storms. The lack of even hearing thunder is odd. Even when we miss it, it usually gets loud daily here. My hope is some good moisture returns soon. We need it as May and April were also dry and sunny. What wacko summers we have had lately....

[RedRabbit]

Monday was weird right? I saw areas of Hernando County were in the 50s! It has been relatively dry here too, but we did get a quick sprinkle two nights ago. My palms would certainly appreciate a little rain and a break from the scorching sun.  

[JMBreland]

Though I'm 200 miles NE of you, I have noticed some unusual weather patterns here in Jacksonville as well. We are getting less rain than we normally do at this time. Monday and Tuesday were unusually cool with a high in the mid 80s, but still a welcome respite from the stifling heat and humidity. Thunderstorms are forecasted for this weekend, horray!

[palmsOrl]

The rain machine really has shut off!  No decent rain at my location for 2 weeks either.  If I didn't water all the time, I would not have much of what I do in the garden.  Our rainy season seems to get less and less predictable.

[RedRabbit]

Picked up about 0.5" this afternoon.  

[Palmaceae]

The rain machine is in full operational status here in the Cape, received 1.55" today. But it was dry here for the last several days.

[Eric in Orlando]

Its been a dry summer here so far. It had finally got rainy at the end of May. Then TS Colin left about 2". Way less than the idiot jackass local "meteorologists" predicted. They would have you believing a Cat 6 storm was coming. After that you get one or 2 good rains then nothing for days. It rained hard last Sat here, about 2" then nothing all week and it was dry again. Last night we finally got about 1.5". There was a cell that lingered for hours west of Orlando and they got 3-5".

[palmsOrl]

Still nothing here.  The massive blowup of thunderstorms last night remained just a few miles west of us for hours and hours last night.  Not a drop.  Low of 81F and high of 98F here at the local airport.  We got 0.45" here a week ago and nothing since then.  So far, like Eric said, it has been a dry summer (while strangely enough, for many areas within 30 miles of here, this is not true at all).

Edited June 25, 2016 by palmsOrl

[gsytch]

I am going on 18 days without a drop of rai. Deluge in Tampa today when I was at USF. Could barely see driving. Sunny (as usual) ad dry here. This is ridiculous that some areas get so much rain and I am getting nada...

[RedRabbit]

Roads were wet when I got home but nothing much in the rain gauge...  I was in Citrus Park and  the storm made for was a pleasant afternoon with the temps in the low 80s.

[RedRabbit]

0.3" today... Not a lot but I'll take it. :)

[palmsOrl]

Still nothing here.  It rained a bit at work 3 miles away and I could tell that location was right on the edge of the heavy rain/storm.  Hopefully our rainy season is back in full swing now at least (assuming it was ever in full swing in a traditional sense).  We could really use consistent, soaking rains.  A lot of sun burn and spider mites in my garden.

[gsytch]

It is now 21 days without a drop and since TS Colin that aything decet has fallen. Yesterday my big Crepe Myrtle was wilting, and a few Copperleafs 10' tall. That is dry! Tampa has 11 inches of rain in June. Take away Colin, Ive had about 1/2". When will the pain ever stop (or the hose?)...

[PalmatierMeg]

Rain machine shut off here from early June (8") till this past Mon. Since then I've had 7" in 3 storms: 1.5", 3" & 2.5". That totals 15" on the Isabelle Canal through June 28. But I wish Mother Nature would back off the "Feast or Famine" philosophy of rainfall.

[palmsOrl]

A little consistency would be nice.  Still nada here.  Storms that flared up at 2:30 this morning just missed us, and so did the storms this afternoon.  My Neoveitchia and 2 Licuala are looking really sun burnt and dry.  A seedling sized Pinanga coronata, stunted from this past winter, also perished.  I think the Cocos would appreciate some actual rainfall as well (I do water, but it is not the same).

[Matthew92]

Same problem here in the Panhandle. Close to 2 weeks without rain at my location: although there have been pop up storms in the area many days, the coverage is sparse and they miss us every time.

Good thing is the forecast features storms everyday, so we're bound to get something soon.

It's during dry spells like these that I think to myself how in my dream home landscape, I would have a core foundation of drought tolerant plants and/or a good irrigation system. It is a pain to have to run out and hand water things: and all while it's blazing hot.  

[palmsOrl]

Many of my palms and other landscape plants were not planted according to my rule (amend the soil when planting something new so it is not in pure sand) because they came from my parent's house when they moved and had to be planted in a hurry, and w/o a budget for good soil.  These plants are definitely more drought resilient than when they were hurried into the ground, but most would look better if in rich, moisture retentive soil.

I keep thinking I should have planted more xeric friendly palms, but I wouldn't be happy with the choices that would leave.  The Areca catechu, for example, was a glaringly bad choice for several reasons, but I am enjoying it while it is alive for the novelty factor.  It is just starting to look halfway decent again after the winter damage.  My Cyrtostachys, now planted in the greenhouse due to its size, never gets rain and looks completely burnt to a crisp on many leaves.  You can imagine why!  I just realized, the simple solution to the sun/heat scorch is shade cloth.

70% chance of rain today,  I have my fingers crossed.

[gsytch]

Yesterday - dark skies around noon..thunder...hope? Nah. Inland 5 miles from me. 23 days and counting without a drop!

[palmsOrl]

Yesterday late afternoon, when I was at work, we picked up at least 1.5" of rain in my garden.  Finally!  Let's hope it keeps up, as the rain chances go down dramatically by next week (again).

[palmsOrl]

I was keeping precise track of rainfall amounts in my garden for June, our rainiest month, until I forgot to empty the gauge after running the sprinkler, then it rained the next day.  Nonetheless, with yesterday's rain, we ended up with 6-7" for the month of June 2016, not much below normal, just highly erratic in timing and distribution.  The June average temps at the closest airport were 76F/92F (highest low 81F, lowest low 71F, (highest high 98F, lowest high 86F) (Rain 8.10").  Compared to other local airports on the periphery of town, the heat island exerts its effects at night even in the summer.  Orl Int'l was 74F/92F(highest low 77F, lowest low 68F, highest high 96F, lowest high 86F) (Rain 7.71") for June and Sanford was 74F/92F(highest low 79F, lowest low 66F, highest high 96F, lowest high 86F) (Rain 7.15").

[Matthew92]

After I made that last comment, we got a good downpour that night: the rain was so hard it actually woke me up. Next day there were low, ragged/mushy cumulus all over the place, reminded me of weather in the Caribbean. The local forecast discussion from the NWS even described it as a "tropical airmass". That night we got another really good downpour.

All plants are definitely relieved. However, the forecast has switched from good chances of rain most every day to very low chances due to a ridge building in... yuck... Really hope it turns around and we don't get stuck in another horrid dry spell.

[RedRabbit]

On 7/1/2016, 6:42:07, gsytch said:

Yesterday - dark skies around noon..thunder...hope? Nah. Inland 5 miles from me. 23 days and counting without a drop!

Something tells me that streak has come to an end. We just got a little rain here and judging by the radar NPR got some too. 

[gsytch]

It has finally rained.ot a gully washer BUT a few downpours. I'll take it. AD it is cloudy/overcast and barely 80F so that is a huge break from the constant 92F sunny skies. The radar has more out in the Gulf, so I am hopeful even more comes my way. Yes, I saw the "drying out" forecast. Drier than 24 straight days without a drop? Hmm. now I can breathe and relax. Some. 

[palmsOrl]

Our conditions here locally are abnormally dry for sure.  If the 7-day forecast is correct and we end up with another really hot dry week, we will surely enter into drought conditions at my place.  If we get halfway through July with virtually no rainfall (and the forecast thereafter looks ho-hum), I am going to be tempted to declare this rainy season a bust.

As much as everybody around me whines about the rain, blah blah, as a really involved gardener, I absolutely hate dry summers.

Edited July 3, 2016 by palmsOrl

[RedRabbit]

32 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Our conditions here locally are abnormally dry for sure.  If the 7-day forecast is correct and we end up with another really hot dry week, we will surely enter into drought conditions at my place.  If we get halfway through July with virtually no rainfall (and the forecast thereafter looks ho-hum), I am going to be tempted to declare this rainy season a bust.

As much as everybody around me whines about the rain, blah blah, as a really involved gardener, I absolutely hate dry summers.

You know it is funny, I selected palms for my garden that I thought would have a fighting chance of making it though the winter but I didn't really consider the summer. What's the point of having a palm that can make it through the two coldest days of the year if they struggle during the warmest 100 days of the year? 

My poor archies hate the summer, only one of them looks good at this point and a couple are fully defoliated with just a spear sticking out. I'm really growing to appreciate my Beccariophoenix alfredi and my Dypsis leptocheilos, both of which are doing great in spite of the heat. 

[gsytch]

The seven day forecast looks dry. I have seen where rains have hit the same areas in the central part of the state, but we still have yet to have a single storm blow in from the east

this year, as might be typical. Not one. I am thankful for Saturday's rain, but a dry week just means it will all go bust. It also means HOT days all day, without the benefit of the cooling rains or clouds. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Was supposedly going to be rainy the whole 3-day weekend. Got nothing till 45 minutes ago and that little bit of nothing is now moving inland where the vast majority of our rain seems to go this summer. Ironically, our weather app indicated no rain for at least a couple more hours. But this is July 4, so what did I expect? I had no plans to venture out to face the onslaught of humidity, mosquitoes and Zika virus. I told my cancer-stricken husband to stay home, too. Here's to the red, white and blue. I'm watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.  Light a sparkler for us.

[cm05]

We're in a drought, lawns are fried, some trees look crispy, some trees haven't even put out leaves this year. We're supposed to get a good soaking tonight, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[palmsOrl]

Will will be entering a drought here very shortly as well.  Had a quick popup thundershower on July 3 that dropped about 0.20".  That's it, and looks to be it for quite some time.  HOT days and abnormally warm nights ahead for the next week, and possibly longer.  Rainy season 2016 has been anything but normal here, but it seems this is more and more becoming the norm.  Rainy seasons with erratic rainfall distributions and extended periods of dryness between short wet periods.

[PalmatierMeg]

Got 0.3" rain yesterday - so much for that rainy weekend. Nothing today. It is furnace hot and wet blanket humid.

[palmsOrl]

It's a scorching hell hole in FL right now.  Some of my small in-ground tropical palms that laughed at winter are now looking like they may just die from excessive sun/heat and lack of rain.

[Bill H2DB]

      Well , it seems to be the same general " hit or miss" ( as the TV Weather guys say ) shower pattern , here in the 

Mid Florida peninsula . Last Saturday , for instance , I got 2,8" here in Holly Hill , while 2 miles away at the Daytona Beach 

Airport , the reading was 0.18 ".  

Around the area (from New Smyrna Bch on the south , to Flagler Beach on the north ) , the readings were from a least of 0.11"  , to 2.9"

at the most .    Typical variability . 

  With out a "system.. , or a nearby front.. " of some sort , it just is up to where the convection occurs , and whether the East Coast or West Coast

seabreeze is the stronger , to push the storms one way or the other . 

   I had nearby  quick popup showers at different times today , one to the North of me , and one to the South .

      Neither one lasted very long , but both had thunder , and I think a good quick soaking for somebody .    No soup for me .

   Frustrating , but normalish .

[gsytch]

No Bill, this is not normal. Ive lived here since the 80's, and I can tell you summers are becoming hotter and moisture more erratic, It has rained all of one time in a month, twice if you consider yesterday's 5 minute shower. That is not normal. Heat index in Tampa 108F St Pete 110F that is kind of normal, but no cooling rains anywhere. We barely hear thuder anymore, and this close to the coast (I am about a mile from the GOM) that is rare. My dog's vocal chords have rested this summer! But lord it is HOT HOT out. 

[Bill H2DB]

 I disagree .    Look up 1998 , for starters .     BTW , I've lived here since the mid 1950"s .

Grown plants through the Hot , the Cold , the Dry , the Wet .   Just part of it .

SWFMD may have good data for you , but here is some EastCoast info .

 

Melbourne July by Bill H, on Flickr

 

 

Daytona Beach  July by Bill H, on Flickr

[palmsOrl]

1998 was an extreme drought/heat wave here, with massive widespread fires as a result.  That was FAR from normal and what we are experiencing now is abnormally hot and dry.  Variability is normal but it seems to be getting more and more variable as the years go by.

[RedRabbit]

I tend to agree on it being more variable. Bill, I lived in Port Orange about 8 years and I recall it raining almost every day in the summer. I could be mistaken though...

In Florida it all comes down to the sea breeze, is there any indication that has changed?  In the past storms would just start at the edge of the sea breeze and move one direction or another. Lately they haven't made it back to the coast, which isn't that unusual but it's getting a little strange. I like the thunderstorms and miss having them even with palms out of the equation.

 

[Cocoa Beach Jason]

117 heat index at my house today (my sensor is in full sun though). Burning hot. Thank goodness for irrigation. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Cocoa Beach Jason

[palmsOrl]

Actually got a decent rain this evening (actually 2) and picked up between .25-.5" based on the Doppler radar estimates from today.  My gauge once again had sprinkler water in it, so I do know exactly how much we got.  Though we could have picked up a lot more than we did today, with all the red on the radar popping up around us, I am thankful we did get some precipitation.  My orange Areca vestiaria is dead, and my Neoveitchia is down to the healthy green spear.  All the rest of the leaves are fried and completely black.

[SubTropicRay]

The rain machine is still M.I.A. here.  I've had two measurable rainfalls in 4 weeks.

[PalmatierMeg]

Thunderstormed about 1 a.m. Got a whopping 0.3" again. Better than nothing.