It is dry season here in Central Florida, but even so, it is abnormally dry.
This is the time of the year we rely on cold fronts to bring us some rain once every week to two weeks.
While we have had cold fronts pass, most of the fronts have not brought the region any meaningful rainfall.
Since the start of the year, we have seen moderate drought and now severe drought conditions expand across Central Florida.
In fact, there is even a portion of southwest Florida that is now in extreme drought. This is the widest coverage of extreme drought in the state since 2017.
Orlando is running a deficit of more than seven inches for rainfall dating back to Dec. 1, and it is more than five inches drier than normal since the start of 2023.
Leesburg and Sanford join Orlando for having one of their top 5 driest starts to a year on record.
In Leesburg, it is the second driest start of a year on record. So far, the city has only picked up a little more than 1.5″.
The April climate outlook is projecting for equal chances of above or below normal rainfall while temperatures could remain well above normal.
The average start date of the rainy season is May 27.
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