Most of Florida is in a drought A spokeswoman for Gore said that he was citing the United States Drought Monitor, a weekly map published on Thursdays showing drought conditions.
The last time the drought monitor showed Florida’s area of drought was as high as 71 percent was February 2013.
During two weeks in April 2012, 99.96 percent of Florida was in a drought.
"Since the Florida wet season has returned with a vengeance over the past week, and is forecast to continue over the next few weeks, the amount of Florida in drought two to four weeks from now should be substantially less than what it is today."
Experts told us that Florida is prone to periodic droughts, but rising temperatures as a result of climate change can make droughts worse.
"There is an increasing temperature trend, and warmer temperatures lead to greater evapotranspiration rates, which can exacerbate these periods of drought," Zierden said.
While Gore’s numerical statement about the drought is correct, David Nolan, chair of the University of Miami’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences, cautioned against pointing to any particular weather event as proof of climate change.
Gore correctly cited the United States Drought Monitor which showed that 71.66 percent of Florida was experiencing a drought for the week ending May 30.
PolitiFact Florida The statement: "70 percent of Florida is in drought today."
The ruling: Gore correctly cited the United States Drought Monitor which showed that 71.66 percent of Florida was experiencing a drought for the week ending May 30.