For some, Florida drought is getting very "extreme"

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

How is everyone in the peninsula doing rain-wise? We've finally been getting more consistent pop-ups here in the Western FL Panhandle for awhile now. Just got 1.4 in earlier today, although many days lately my location has been getting missed by the storms.

Not as bad as 2023, but my location has been donut-holed enough to have less overall precipitation than some of the surrounding areas.  The 0.75in overnight did wonders since it couldn't just evaporate as soon as the sun came back out.

[Eric in Orlando]

No rain for 2 months in spring then about 10" in just over a week in late May/early June now nothing for almost 2 weeks. I give up, I'm glad we have reclaimed water for irrigation. Its looking to be a real shatty summer.

[SubTropicRay]

The red is gone for now

[Looking Glass]

We’ve gotten about half the normal rainfall for June, and about half the normal rainfall for this year, after entering 2025 significantly in the hole also.   Water bill suuuucks… 

 

It’s seems to be trying to rain more lately, but the amounts are small. 

[Rubberboots]

7 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

We’ve gotten about half the normal rainfall for June, and about half the normal rainfall for this year, after entering 2025 significantly in the hole also.   Water bill suuuucks… 

 

It’s seems to be trying to rain more lately, but the amounts are small. 

@Looking Glass try recycling water in the yard where you can...mulch and amend your garden.

[SubTropicRay]

No drought in my garden at the moment.  8.35" of rain have fallen thus far in June.  No complaints for a change.

[kinzyjr]

8 hours ago, SubTropicRay said:

No drought in my garden at the moment.  8.35" of rain have fallen thus far in June.  No complaints for a change.

A little less than half of that over this way.  It seems like the storms have had us surrounded, but the amount of rain hitting the ground hasn't been as much as the areas to our north.

[SubTropicRay]

[Looking Glass]

7 hours ago, SubTropicRay said:

Last year, we got 17 inches of rain in June.  This year, it was about 3 inches.  I was about to write a tearful post about how violently, soul-suckingly dry and hot it was recently, but that last inch we got pulled us back out of it of the abyss enough that irrigation can keep up again.   Hopefully we get some significant rain from this.  Dry sand doesn’t hold much water.  

[3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico]

Seminole Fl

5.86 inches June 2025.  Need more.

[SubTropicRay]

[kinzyjr]

On 7/1/2025 at 7:21 PM, 3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico said:

Seminole Fl

5.86 inches June 2025.  Need more.

Slightly less at ~5inches of rain here for the month of June.  Could use more, but at least it was more spread out.  Recorded over 3/4in today, so July is off to a decent start.

[SubTropicRay]

[SubTropicRay]

[Palmarum]

^^

Got my whole county in the orange... 

It doesn't seem that dry lately, but I know we are in a deficit. These random rolling storms can dump enough rain to get us through the days until the next one. I haven't had to water for two weeks. 

Ryan 

[Looking Glass]

The rain blobs are hyper-local right now.  At the house here, I’ve gotten about 1/3rd of an inch this month.  It clouds up but nothing happens.  My wife will message me from work 20 minutes away about a massive hurricane outside, at the same time I’m out there mowing the lawn and it’s just cloudy.   Irrigation running double time for me, grass looks like dry, pale green straw.   

Weather service measured .21inches today….  But none here at the house.  Just a few drops dotting the sidewalk for 30 seconds, then sun all day.  I can’t be more than 20-30 minutes from you @Palmarum.  Irrigation ran yesterday, and I’m going to head out and hand water stuff now.   “Direct misses” every time this year. 
 

[Matthew92]

On 7/10/2025 at 4:46 PM, Looking Glass said:

The rain blobs are hyper-local right now.  At the house here, I’ve gotten about 1/3rd of an inch this month.  It clouds up but nothing happens.  My wife will message me from work 20 minutes away about a massive hurricane outside, at the same time I’m out there mowing the lawn and it’s just cloudy.   Irrigation running double time for me, grass looks like dry, pale green straw.   

Weather service measured .21inches today….  But none here at the house.  Just a few drops dotting the sidewalk for 30 seconds, then sun all day.  I can’t be more than 20-30 minutes from you @Palmarum.  Irrigation ran yesterday, and I’m going to head out and hand water stuff now.   “Direct misses” every time this year. 

Very similar to what I've been experiencing lately. We've had a lot of days where just a few miles away a deluge occurred but nothing here: but overall, my location has been having a decent pop up storm season. It was pretty good until a week ago when suddenly have been completely missed by storms along with drier than usual air masses causing the storms to be even fewer and far between. This causes baking heat and temps to skyrocket so its super hard on the plants. To go a whole week without rain in mid July is kind of unusual here. Usually we should be in peak rainy season about now with rain every other day at the least. It seems like nothing has been the same since 2022. The years after then have had weird dry periods during what should be the wettest time of year, and then horrible fall droughts that go almost a month and a half with hardly a drop.

[kinzyjr]

A trifecta for me, @Matthew92, and @Looking Glass. 

Overall, this summer hasn't been as bad as 2023 here in regard to irregular rainfall and high heat drought.  There are a lot of days where it has clouded up with thunder and lightning and not dropped even a trace of rain, though.  It does seem like after 2022, something clicked and we're in a regime where rain is more episodic and sporadic.  You get 5-6 inches of rain at a time, and then very little or nothing for the next 3-4 weeks.  It's certainly much different than when I moved here and you could set your watch by the daily rains from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I'm writing this as over two inches of rain have fallen, and seemingly more on the way. 🤞

[Looking Glass]

8 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

A trifecta for me, @Matthew92, and @Looking Glass. 

Overall, this summer hasn't been as bad as 2023 here in regard to irregular rainfall and high heat drought.  There are a lot of days where it has clouded up with thunder and lightning and not dropped even a trace of rain, though.  It does seem like after 2022, something clicked and we're in a regime where rain is more episodic and sporadic.  You get 5-6 inches of rain at a time, and then very little or nothing for the next 3-4 weeks.  It's certainly much different than when I moved here and you could set your watch by the daily rains from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I'm writing this as over two inches of rain have fallen, and seemingly more on the way. 🤞

We did snag 1.8 inches today too….   Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp, dry beam of sunshine.   

[Palmarum]

12 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

We did snag 1.8 inches today too….   Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp, dry beam of sunshine.   

Also received just under two inches here on Monday... on the day I was going to water.

Ryan

[SubTropicRay]

This week's low pressure that crossed north Florida disappointed locally.  Instead of the predicted 3-5" of rain, we got about 1.5".  Fear not, another underachiever is headed our way next week.  At least the map is becoming less colorful.

[Looking Glass]

3 hours ago, SubTropicRay said:

This week's low pressure that crossed north Florida disappointed locally.  Instead of the predicted 3-5" of rain, we got about 1.5".  Fear not, another underachiever is headed our way next week.  At least the map is becoming less colorful.

“Just the tip” remains inflamed.  

[SubTropicRay]

Another low pressure made the unusual trek from NE Florida into the Gulf.  Like the last one, it produced much less rain than the overblown and advertised expectations.

[SubTropicRay]

[kinzyjr]

It hasn't been as bad as 2023, but there have been quite a few days where the rain chances were over 60% and we didn't see a drop.  Yesterday, we got the @Looking Glass treatment - dark clouds, thunder, lightning - then nothing.

[flplantguy]

Its been much better here, but the amounts are not impressive until the last two days.  The heat isnt as bad either, but i wonder if its part of the new normal that the amounts are lower unless its a major tropical system.  I did see a projection that had a few results showing a drying trend in summer to a savannah not a monsoon like now.  Wetter all around, but drier in summer in much of the SE US.  Most its not a large % so im not worried, but with my sand i need some mexican desert 9b/10a stuff lol.

[kinzyjr]

1 hour ago, flplantguy said:

Its been much better here, but the amounts are not impressive until the last two days.  The heat isnt as bad either, but i wonder if its part of the new normal that the amounts are lower unless its a major tropical system.  I did see a projection that had a few results showing a drying trend in summer to a savannah not a monsoon like now.  Wetter all around, but drier in summer in much of the SE US.  Most its not a large % so im not worried, but with my sand i need some mexican desert 9b/10a stuff lol.

Bring on the Braheas

[Eric in Orlando]

Still dry in Altamonte Springs. 1 good rain in the last 10 days but that evaporates in 2 days. Its the driest summer since I moved here in 2014. A little more rain 15 miles south at Leu Gardens but drier than normal for summer. There haven't been many big storms/downpours mainly just short, gentle rains.

[D. Morrowii]

We had a brief reprieve with rain on and off there for a couple of weeks but it feels like  we are back in the desert again. At about 17” for the year. 33 more to go for the yearly average. 

[kinzyjr]

Wow @D. Morrowii!  That's really dry for anywhere in FL.  

@Eric in Orlando Does Leu have a rain gauge?

[Eric in Orlando]

15 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Wow @D. Morrowii!  That's really dry for anywhere in FL.  

@Eric in Orlando Does Leu have a rain gauge?

No, we used to have a Davis Weather Station but it never got replaced years ago.

I think there is cheap, "homeowner" gauge in the hort service area.

 

[SubTropicRay]

7 inches of rain thus far in July which is below normal with 2 days left.  The recent record heat including Tampa's first ever 100F reading has magnified the lack of normal rain. 

[flplantguy]

I have yet to have an above average typical season pattern, its only above average last year from the hurricanes with huge gaps between. Amounts this year have also been on the lower side but at least more frequent, but heat damage has set in on a few palms after this last two weeks. And i had a new order of palms come in the day it started🤦‍♂️. One more month before nights start to cool some here, 2 before its done in october, so time is ticking.  I wish we had a Babinda, AU rainy season of 30 inches in the wettest month!

[Eric in Orlando]

Finally got about 1/2" last night. 3 separate storms passed near but brokeup or missed and then the 4th made it. Though it was a good rain its still not the typical summer deluges. There are low spots in my yard that can have standing water for a couple days after the normal summer downpours. One I have banana and plantains growing in it the other FL native wildflower garden. So far this summer there has been no standing water.

[SubTropicRay]

47 minutes ago, flplantguy said:

I have yet to have an above average typical season pattern, its only above average last year from the hurricanes with huge gaps between. Amounts this year have also been on the lower side but at least more frequent, but heat damage has set in on a few palms after this last two weeks. And i had a new order of palms come in the day it started🤦‍♂️. One more month before nights start to cool some here, 2 before its done in october, so time is ticking.  I wish we had a Babinda, AU rainy season of 30 inches in the wettest month!

There is such a thing as too much rain.  I could never live on the Hilo side of the big Island or wetter areas of Costa Rica no matter how good the palms/plants look.  Too much cloudiness and rain affects my mood. 😆  

[flplantguy]

1 hour ago, SubTropicRay said:

There is such a thing as too much rain.  I could never live on the Hilo side of the big Island or wetter areas of Costa Rica no matter how good the palms/plants look.  Too much cloudiness and rain affects my mood. 😆  

True, thats me and short days up north, but clouds are ok as long as they break up and its warm lol.  I would take that over vegas, that was awful.  Last el nino winter i shared this meme, so i will definately visit those places first before trying to move there.

[kinzyjr]

8 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

Finally got about 1/2" last night. 3 separate storms passed near but brokeup or missed and then the 4th made it. Though it was a good rain its still not the typical summer deluges. There are low spots in my yard that can have standing water for a couple days after the normal summer downpours. One I have banana and plantains growing in it the other FL native wildflower garden. So far this summer there has been no standing water.

Have you seen a three-year stretch like this where the temperatures are routinely in the high 90s and the rainfall is so irregular?

I know the 1998 Drought is currently the benchmark for drought, but I think the years preceding and after that were relatively normal.

[SubTropicRay]

The inconsistency of sub tropical weather is amazing.  You see the map below and 2 years ago, Miami had almost as much rainfall as Hilo.

[HudsonBill]

On 7/30/2025 at 8:28 AM, flplantguy said:

I have yet to have an above average typical season pattern, its only above average last year from the hurricanes with huge gaps between. Amounts this year have also been on the lower side but at least more frequent, but heat damage has set in on a few palms after this last two weeks. And i had a new order of palms come in the day it started🤦‍♂️. One more month before nights start to cool some here, 2 before its done in october, so time is ticking.  I wish we had a Babinda, AU rainy season of 30 inches in the wettest month!

Idk my backyard seems to have gotten a ton of rain in a short amount of time this year. My pond after all the work we did is flooded into my yard almost as bad as any bad year.  

[Looking Glass]

On 7/30/2025 at 8:28 AM, flplantguy said:

I have yet to have an above average typical season pattern, its only above average last year from the hurricanes with huge gaps between. Amounts this year have also been on the lower side but at least more frequent, but heat damage has set in on a few palms after this last two weeks. And i had a new order of palms come in the day it started🤦‍♂️. One more month before nights start to cool some here, 2 before its done in october, so time is ticking.  I wish we had a Babinda, AU rainy season of 30 inches in the wettest month!

We’re sitting on about 17 inches of rain this year also.   Sucks.   I feel like most years without the hurricane or tropical storms activity, summers are hot and overly dry for long periods.   No rain in 2 weeks here with the mid summer Saharan dust.    Irrigation water good for about 12 hours in this dry sand and sun, then everything starts to shrivel by late afternoon.   Need 30-40 inches of rain in the next 3 months to make it up.