After a soggy
Saturday, Central Florida’s drought conditions are likely to persist, analysts say.
Rain fell on Central Florida on Saturday, much to the dismay of soccer fans, but this week is expected to be clear and dry — meaning drought conditions will likely persist.
By about 6:30 p.m., 0.16 inches of rain were recorded at Orlando International Airport, National Weather Service meteorologist Derrick Weitlich said.
More precipitation — between 0.1 and 0.25 inches — was expected by the day’s end, with showers and thunderstorms sticking around.
Then dry weather returns, with no rain expected for at least another week, Weitlich said. That means Orange County will remain in an extreme drought condition.
Saturday’s rain was a brief respite from what has been a dry spring in Central Florida. According to the National Weather Service, only 0.25 inches of rain fell on Orlando International Airport between March 1 and Friday.
The dry conditions have brought frequent brush fires, weakened flow at springs and stagnation along parts of the St. John’s river.
Most of Florida is under a burn ban, meaning residents should not set fire to yard debris or anything else because dry conditions make brush fires more likely.
Before Saturday’s rainfall, 3.18 inches of rain were recorded at Orlando International Airport since Jan. 1. That’s far below last year’s rainfall of 16.56 inches, and the National Weather Service’s normal value of 12.17.
The driest recorded year-todate period came in 1898, with 2.64 inches of measured rainfall by the same time that year.
“Once we get more constant rainfall, and more normal rainfall, then we’ll start to see some of these dry conditions ease. But that likely won’t happen until the start of the wet season, which is typically late May, early June,” Weitlich said.
Temperatures this week are expected to be consistent, with highs around the low 90s and lows in the 70s every day.
Showers could return on Saturday — with a 20 percent chance of rain and a high of about 89 degrees.