For some, Florida drought is getting very "extreme"

[JLM]

I doubt that cloud seeding in other states is making Florida drier. Its an activity that began in the 1950s and has been happening since then. Florida has not been dry since the 1950s.

You mentioned an uptick in activity recently, which is likely true, but preceded by a decrease in activity. Are they doing it as frequent as they did before slowing down?

I think the droughts the state has experienced in recent years are more attributed to macro scale factors like ENSO among other things. Moreso, the unfortunate timing of these ENSO phases. 

I'm not completely closed off to the idea that cloud seeding can be a positive in one place and a negative in another, I just can't see how we would be doing it enough to create an artificial imbalance like that especially over large portions of the globe.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, JLM said:

I think the droughts the state has experienced in recent years are more attributed to macro scale factors like ENSO among other things. Moreso, the unfortunate timing of these ENSO phases. 

^^ THIS    ..Not the " cloud seeding creates drought con "  🤦🏽‍♂️ ..That is about as bad as those who pulled that same card during the floods in TX last summer..   Which is it?   " cloud seeding creates mega droughts "  "  ..or mega floods..     ..or......  " 

If droughts,  then this part of the world has been screwed since  ..several thousands of years ago,  lol..    Don't think anyone was flying around dropping Silver Iodide into clouds back then..   

Ofcourse, ..it would be nice to have that time machine to prove that,  lol..


Someone well versed in their climatology  ..and how climate directly effects the ecology of a particular region probably already knows why FL,  < Cen and southern portion of the state esp >  ..and the rest of the Caribbean region..  can experience long dry periods  ..while also experiencing really wet bursts.. 

 Long dry periods in that region is one reason Cacti and other plants that can store water in their trunks / stems   grow in these areas  ..areas that aren't growing within riparian corridors sited directly next to streams where water is more available.

When the Peninsula of FL was wider after rising ( again ) above sea level, interior of the state was considered   ....Desert ... or very close to desert...

Aside from direct  ENSO - influenced effects,   i do wonder if recent drier trend there ..in in other areas recently might be connected to any expansion of the Hadley Cell circulation during the summer..  


Most are well aware the overall subtropical belt is expanding pole-ward in both hemispheres,  it makes sense that the circulation that defines the northern boundary of the subtropics would get pushed toward the poles too.  

More intermittent / less sustained summer rainfall pattern  ....that might have been laid out across areas south of FL. in decades past   might have shifted / is continuing to expand into   areas further north   ...say the northern boundary of that belt now sits say across the Panhandle  ..or Say in a line from Tampa to Melbourne.. 

 Makes much more sense than these constantly de-bunked  " cloud seeding "  " theories "..

[SeanK]

A Red Flag Warning is in effect today until 8 PM EDT due to
dangerous Fire Weather Conditions. Minimum relative humidity
values will fall into the teens with wind gusts as high as 30 mph.
Any fires that start could quickly grow out of control.

No expectation for rain this week. Hopefully there is an active hurricane season.

 

[Looking Glass]

Man, it’s brutal out there.   Clear blazing skies and dry as a bone.  Some stuff is OK, while others are just hanging in there, waiting for rain.  Some rain is forecast for tomorrow though.  

 

[SubTropicRay]

[SeanK]

I hope the map is correct. The winter has been dry and now spring. This looks like 20 years ago.

[SubTropicRay]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

I hope the map is correct. The winter has been dry and now spring. This looks like 20 years ago.

Don't bank on it.  It's when the map shows you dead on arrival that you get an unexpected deluge.

[SubTropicRay]

Looks like the drought map is a myth in south Florida.  You guys are swimming in water.  

[SubTropicRay]

[aabell]

We had a violent line of thunderstorms cut across Lee county yesterday afternoon, with strong winds and some hail. Nearly 2" at my place. After a wetter than average March (3"), there's already a lot more green in the garden than I'm used to seeing at the peak of dry season. More rain in the forecast for this week also, hopefully it will be spread across the state. Won't end the drought yet but it certainly helps.

[HudsonBill]

5 hours ago, aabell said:

We had a violent line of thunderstorms cut across Lee county yesterday afternoon, with strong winds and some hail. Nearly 2" at my place. After a wetter than average March (3"), there's already a lot more green in the garden than I'm used to seeing at the peak of dry season. More rain in the forecast for this week also, hopefully it will be spread across the state. Won't end the drought yet but it certainly helps.

Lucky. My idea of just getting rid of everything for cold hardy cactus is becoming more of a reality. The onky real rain we have gotten in years has been from tropical systems. It goes from freezing cold to bone desert dry to floods. Rainy season here has been maybe 1 month to 2 months long a year and just floods. 

[kinzyjr]

After almost an inch and a half in the last week, things are doing a little better here.  It will exacerbate any fungal rot, but I can live with some healthy green and cut away the dead stuff.

[sonoranfans]

On 3/28/2026 at 10:35 AM, JLM said:

I doubt that cloud seeding in other states is making Florida drier. Its an activity that began in the 1950s and has been happening since then. Florida has not been dry since the 1950s.

You mentioned an uptick in activity recently, which is likely true, but preceded by a decrease in activity. Are they doing it as frequent as they did before slowing down?

I think the droughts the state has experienced in recent years are more attributed to macro scale factors like ENSO among other things. Moreso, the unfortunate timing of these ENSO phases. 

I'm not completely closed off to the idea that cloud seeding can be a positive in one place and a negative in another, I just can't see how we would be doing it enough to create an artificial imbalance like that especially over large portions of the globe.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12728217/

 

On 3/28/2026 at 12:39 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

^^ THIS    ..Not the " cloud seeding creates drought con "  🤦🏽‍♂️ ..That is about as bad as those who pulled that same card during the floods in TX last summer..   Which is it?   " cloud seeding creates mega droughts "  "  ..or mega floods..     ..or......  " 

If droughts,  then this part of the world has been screwed since  ..several thousands of years ago,  lol..    Don't think anyone was flying around dropping Silver Iodide into clouds back then..   

Ofcourse, ..it would be nice to have that time machine to prove that,  lol..


Someone well versed in their climatology  ..and how climate directly effects the ecology of a particular region probably already knows why FL,  < Cen and southern portion of the state esp >  ..and the rest of the Caribbean region..  can experience long dry periods  ..while also experiencing really wet bursts.. 

 Long dry periods in that region is one reason Cacti and other plants that can store water in their trunks / stems   grow in these areas  ..areas that aren't growing within riparian corridors sited directly next to streams where water is more available.

When the Peninsula of FL was wider after rising ( again ) above sea level, interior of the state was considered   ....Desert ... or very close to desert...

Aside from direct  ENSO - influenced effects,   i do wonder if recent drier trend there ..in in other areas recently might be connected to any expansion of the Hadley Cell circulation during the summer..  


Most are well aware the overall subtropical belt is expanding pole-ward in both hemispheres,  it makes sense that the circulation that defines the northern boundary of the subtropics would get pushed toward the poles too.  

More intermittent / less sustained summer rainfall pattern  ....that might have been laid out across areas south of FL. in decades past   might have shifted / is continuing to expand into   areas further north   ...say the northern boundary of that belt now sits say across the Panhandle  ..or Say in a line from Tampa to Melbourne.. 

 Makes much more sense than these constantly de-bunked  " cloud seeding "  " theories "..

Now that is some advanced hand waving, not enough real science here either way to prove or disprove a hypothesis on impact of cloud seedling.   I want to look at data before making conclusions, Scientists of the day didn't believe Newton saying a large ball and a small ball fall at the same rate till he took the data.  This is much more complex to take data and render conclusions. I don't think there is even close to enough data to fully support a theory, and we are not even collecting the kind a of data needed and never did.   If data isn't collected does that mean it doesn't happen?  I support data collection/monitoring and reporting of cloud seeding events in terms of tonnage of silver Iodide dropped as it is toxic to aquatic life and yet its overwhelmingly the seeding method used.  If it doesnt work, why do they increase its application? 

As for what happened in the distant past with drought without cloud seeding, you assume only cloud seeding can cause drought which is a flawed argument, not science.  Changes in ocean thermocline patterns are known to have changed the jungle in north africa to the sahara desert, but that took about 10,000 years to rearrange the flow of thermohaline currents.  Cold ocean currents are why the west coast is dry and the east coast is humid, if they change so will the climate.  Obviously humans struggle with weather prediction at longer time scales than a month or two.  When we fail to predict the weather patterns in the future, we look at them after time and try to deduce the cause.  Theories for causality determined after an event are interesting but are not certain in linking causality, they just show just correlation.  I won't close the book on hypothesis involving cloud seeding based on anything said here.  Some limited records on cloud seeding are available in the above link and 13 western states have done it since 2000.  And over the last 2-3 years it has increased.  As far as prior to 2000, there are no records and the cost was likely pretty high.  More important is how many tons of Silver Iodide have been sprayed into the atmosphere each year by each state? Could be 10x more weight in 2025 than 2000.  Its cheaper than ever these days to seed, but tonnage is not even recorded as far as I know.  

[sonoranfans]

And yeah got about a half inch yesterday, seems like my palms are less wilted.

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

Now that is some advanced hand waving, not enough real science here either way to prove or disprove a hypothesis on impact of cloud seedling. 

Hilarious..    and  Absolute Bull ****   

  Plenty of Real  science proving cloud seeding Doesn't do what you assume it might..  

DUH,   Anyone who has studied climatology at reasonable depth knows changes in ocean currents can shift rainfall patterns..  

I'm definitely not in the "  Cloud seeding  in place X causes drought in place Y " camp   I'd be siting flawed papers ..like the ones you did..   regarding such BS if so.. 




🤔Think i'm going to have to bring this up with a well known legit, climatologist and have him discuss it during one of his live streams, .. so the world can see what a 🤡 show these " Cloud seeding theories " are. 










 

[aabell]

https://www.sfwmd.gov/weather-radar/sfwmd-forecast

Side note but if you live in southern Florida and you're not using the SFWMD page as your primary rain forecast, you should be. It's remarkably accurate, I check it every day when they update it around 9:30 am. TWC can't tell you with more than 50% accuracy if it's going to be raining an hour from now in Florida. 

I'm not sure if the other Water Management Districts in Florida put out a similar forecast or not. I couldn't find anything the one time I searched for them. 

[sonoranfans]

18 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Hilarious..    and  Absolute Bull ****   

  Plenty of Real  science proving cloud seeding Doesn't do what you assume it might..  

DUH,   Anyone who has studied climatology at reasonable depth knows changes in ocean currents can shift rainfall patterns..  

I'm definitely not in the "  Cloud seeding  in place X causes drought in place Y " camp   I'd be siting flawed papers ..like the ones you did..   regarding such BS if so.. 




🤔Think i'm going to have to bring this up with a well known legit, climatologist and have him discuss it during one of his live streams, .. so the world can see what a 🤡 show these " Cloud seeding theories " are. 










 

The difference is that I am not claiming a theory,  just stating a hypothesis that weather is disrupted or altered(not catastrophically so) locally if enough cloud seeding has been done.   I would be interested in data.  I don't need to be spoon fed science, and data will be necessary to disprove an hypothesis.  If the podcaster doesn't have knowledge of sufficient data to back his assertions, its just an alternate hypothesis that is untested.  And untested hypotheses ( like mine about cloud seeding altering regional rain amounts) do not prove anything.  Bring on the peer reviewed research data, hold off on the podcasting.   Science that is not empirically backed has its limitations, especially with complex systems.