Dry Season A Little Too Dry
WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami) – The rainy season in South Florida is only weeks away, but it was a dry month of April with slightly below average rainfall totals according to South Florida Water Management District experts.
"As in March, April experienced dry conditions with just enough rain to prevent water levels from falling too quickly," said Susan Sylvester, SFWMD Chief of the Water Control Operations Bureau in a press release. "Our focus now is to continue balancing flood control and water supply operations so that water levels are positioned to accommodate wet season rainfall."
May is considered a transition month into the wetter season so it is not uncommon to experience dry conditions before that time.
18 inches of rainfall is typical during the dry season from November to May.
District-wide rainfall for April averaged 2.14 inches, representing 85 percent of average, or 0.38 inches below average. Eastern Palm Beach County was the driest portion of the District, with 1.72 inches of rain, representing 53 percent of average, or 1.51 inches below average.
Eastern Miami-Dade County, the Southwest Coast and Martin and St. Lucie counties also experienced drier conditions.
The district reported Eastern Broward County and the Upper Kissimmee Basin were the only areas, from Orlando to the Florida Keys, to experience above-average rain.
Overall, South Florida's dry season has seen slightly below-average rainfall, with 12.88 inches District-wide which is 1.23 inches below average.
Lake Okeechobee stood at 13.07 feet and is 0.56 feet below its historic average to start the month of May.
The lake received 2.04 inches of direct rainfall in April, representing 94 percent of average, or 0.14 inches below average.
March, April and May are considered the driest months for South Florida.
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