BREAKING: Amazing change in Florida’s drought in just 3 weeks.
With more than double the normal rainfall so far this month, where does Florida’s drought stand?
It’s completely wiped out.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released this morning, there is no drought in Florida, although about 15 percent of the state is still considered “abnormally dry.” That’s compared to less than a month ago when the South Florida Water Management District was closing locks on Lake Okeechobee because of extreme drought plaguing the state.
Water managers compared the volume of rain the first week of June in South Florida to a tropical storm, forcing them to quickly shift gears from dry season conservation to emergency dispersal .
“It’s not typical that we go from a situation where we are trying to hang on to every drop of water that falls out of the sky to opening up everything with maximum discharges,” said Tommy Strowd, director of operations for the Lake Worth Drainage District.
“It just doesn’t happen very often.” Lake Okeechobee today stands at 12.23 feet, just below the comfort level of the Army Corps of Engineers, which likes to keep it between 12.5 and 15.5 feet above sea level.
Check The Palm Beach Post radar map.
This month, the 16-county region overseen by the district received more than 13 inches of rain – about 8 inches above what’s normal for this time of year.
Coastal Palm Beach County got 12.3 inches, which is 7 inches higher than normal.