Florida Needs A Hurricane Right About Now. What?

Florida needs a hurricane right about now. “What did he just say?” Yeah I said it, Florida truly needs a slow moving Tropical Storm or Weak Hurricane to help put a huge dent in this ongoing drought we are currently experiencing. The drought conditions are getting worst each day, and everyone is starting to be affected by all the dry weather. I myself have a brown front lawn, palm tree’s with a sick yellow look, and a normally 7 foot waterway behind my house that’s now knee deep, and with no boat traffic anymore. Lake Okeechobee is more than several feet below normal, and this is affecting the normal busy late winter early spring bass fishing season.

The Florida inland agricultural is also taking a hard hit, with water restrictions and little water to use for the Sugar Cane, sod fields, sweet corn and much more. Water restrictions are in place for all of southeast Florida covering several million residents. South Florida Water Management warns that if we don’t receive some substantial rainfall in the coming weeks that there will be tighter water restrictions and some banned water use.

Ok now, relax. Maybe not a hurricane, but a slow moving tropical wave, depression or even a tropical storm would be great right about now. Sure will can deal with some winds, but bring on the 5-10 inches of rain. It’s going to take a good tropical system to get us back to a normal water level in surrounding area lakes and canals. Simply the start of the rainy season is not going to clear this all up. Sure it will help it from becoming worst, and help get our lawn back into shape, but for the long-term, we need a large amount of rain. A tropical storm or system can bring up to a foot of rainfall. Another good way to receive some heavy rains without the threat of a tropical wind storms is to have a old cold front frontal boundary stall over us for a week and just rain. I’ll take either one right about now. At least all the spring breakers are enjoying the hot cloud free beaches this spring.

Florida is still hurting from last years below rainfall season, and our very dry winter and now spring. There is no relief in sight and the days are getting longer and the temperatures are rising. Soon were all going to have wildfire issues to deal with and more intense water restrictions. We’ve had several weeks now of high pressure ridging over the western Atlantic and Florida keeping all the cold fronts and precipitation with the fronts well west and north of the southeast United States and Florida. If this ridging keeps going, we just might have to deal with a hurricane later this summer.

Wishing for rain, more rain and tropical cyclone heavy rains.