Expect hot, dry April in Orlando after 2nd driest March on record

Orlando got a desert-like tenth of an inch of rain last month, which is less than what fell in March on more arid places such as Yuma, Ariz.; Roswell, N.M.; and Reno, Nev.

It was Orlando’s second-driest March since records began in 1892. Hoping for relief from April showers could be a waste of time.

This month, according the National Weather Service, statistically is the region’s driest, getting just a couple of inches of precipitation.

“This could be an interesting month into May before Florida’s rain machine kicks in,” said service forecaster Scott Kelly, referring to the rainy season’s arrival. “It’s going to be hot, and it’s going to be dry.”

DRY

His office in Melbourne predicted that Monday’s decent chance of rain would be followed by temperatures in the lows 90s, or the year’s hottest.

It wasn’t just that most of March went without a good rinse, leaving pollen free to blotch cars and torment allergy suffers — the region hasn’t had a decent cloudburst all year. In 2017, Orlando has had an average of an inch of precipitation per month.

The dry winter was attributed to a “La Nina,” during which the surface of the Pacific Ocean cools and the atmosphere turns drier over the Southern U.S.

Drought was declared for the region last month by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a consortium of university and government weather watchers.

Even though La Nina has retreated, Florida’s dry spell is likely to last weeks, according to the national Center for Climate Prediction.

But rain, when it comes, could be a mixed blessing of moisture and lightning.

Kelly said many of Central Florida’s dry landscapes are wildfires waiting to be ignited.

A brush fire Sunday in east Orange County north of State Road 528 and west of State Road 520 swept nearly 300 acres before it was mostly contained Monday.

Sporadic lightning Sunday afternoon may have ignited smoldering embers that won’t be detected until a hot breeze Wednesday whips them into a blaze, Kelly said.