Drought arrives in Central Florida

A stubborn dry spell in Florida has finally morphed into a “moderate” drought for much of the Orlando area, according to the widely watched U.S. Drought Monitor, which updates its national map every Thursday. The online report shows that the eastern half of Orange County, most of Seminole and all of Osceola are in a “D1” or moderate drought. Lake County is still in the category of abnormally dry. Late winter and early spring ordinarily span the region’s driest part of the year and forecasters have taken that into account, said David Zierden, state climatologist in Tallahassee. But during the past three months, much of Central Florida…

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