Downpours over the weekend and into Monday, the first of their kind in months, inundated a parched Southwest Florida mired in its worst drought in nearly a quarter-century.
Showers and thunderstorms swept across Lee and Collier counties, with Sanibel and Captiva islands, parts of Cape Coral, and North Fort Myers recording four or more inches of rain.
However, the showers were not the same across the region. Other areas didn’t get enough rain to do much more than dampen the landscape.
Southwest Florida’s drought is not yet over.
“The area received much-needed rain, and beneficial rain,” said Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin. “But this is not a drought-busting rain by any stretch.”
Recent rains have provided a modest, short-term increase in lake water levels, but are insufficient to address the underlying long-term drought.
Groundwater recharge is a really slow process. The Mid-Hawthorn aquifer that serves Cape Coral, which is dropping rapidly due to overpumping and causing wells to run dry throughout the northern part of the city, will not "refill" with sustained rains.
Water destined for the Mid-Hawthorn aquifer originates from a recharge area about 50 miles away in DeSoto County. Rainfall must slowly percolate through the ground over this distance, so replenishing the aquifer is a gradual process that unfolds on a geological timescale — not in the weeks following heavy rain.
The drought drying out the region since January has led to visible drying in the Everglades, threatened wildlife habitats, and caused water levels in key aquifers to drop to concerning lows.
"This is not a drought-busting rain by any stretch.”
- Rick Davis, National Weather Service meteorologist
Despite the downpours, meteorologists and drought experts warn that the respite will be short-lived as the dry season continues to push back the wet season. Those showers were far from sufficient to erase a rainfall deficit that has reached nearly six inches for the year, nor will they ease the threat of wildfire in most places.
The lack of sustained rainfall for the past five months has pushed wildfire risk to critical levels, with hundreds of small blazes breaking out across the region in recent weeks and local fire officials reporting they remain on edge.
More than 1,800 wildfires have charred 86,600 acres throughout Florida.
Wildfire managers have been warning of more blazes, potentially bigger and faster, and more likely to burn down homes, unless enough rain falls to quench South Florida’s parched ground.
Without additional rain, drought indices and wildfire danger are poised to climb again, keeping Southwest Florida in a precarious balance as the dry season lingers.
Currently, more than 84% of Florida is experiencing some level of drought, with over a quarter of the state — including much of Southwest Florida — classified under “extreme drought,” the second-most severe category.
The U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest report, released on May 8, classified more than 25 percent of Florida, including much of Southwest Florida, as experiencing extreme drought.
Since the report was issued before the recent rainfall, the next update is expected to reflect the wet spots that received the heaviest downpours.
Water managers and local officials continue to urge residents to conserve water.
The next U.S. Drought Monitor update, scheduled for May 15, will offer a clearer picture of the storm’s impact on the region’s drought status.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by Volo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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