Drought

The slender relatives of hawks and eagles have had a bad-news, good-news, bad-news existence since 1967, when the bird landed on the Endangered Species List after many decades of draining, ditching, and channel-digging in the Everglades

Residents of unincorporated Lee County are reminded that beginning Feb. 1, a one-day-a-week watering schedule will be in place through the end of May. Following schedule is critical for conserving water and protecting the county’s water resource

A drought unlike any the Sunshine State has seen for more than 20 years has been drying out portions of the state — especially Southwest Florida

As of May 2025, Southwest Florida experienced the worst drought in 24 years; It's still bad.

In November alone, more than 1.7 million people living in counties along or near Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast were plunged back into a moderate drought. And drought often precedes wildfires.

Southwest Florida’s water managers have ordered the residents in 16 counties from Lee to Levy — along or near Florida’s Gulf Coast — to cut back on water use. The "Phase 1 water shortage restrictions” sound dire but leave in place local lawn-watering schedules as abundant as twice a week and appear to be more about priming residents for more severe weather conditions in 2026.

Sarasota County declared a burn ban for unincorporated parts of the county and the City of Sarasota more than a month ago. Manatee County and North Port activated burn bans last week. Southwest Florida’s drought has returned

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reminds small businesses and private nonprofits in Florida that they have until Dec. 8 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the drought occurring Feb. 11, 2025.The disaster declaration covers Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.

A burn ban went into effect Saturday morning for Sarasota County due to local drought conditions and an increased chance of fire hazards.Under Sarasota County’s burn ban ordinance (Sarasota County Code Section 58-2), burn bans automatically go into effect countywide and prohibit almost all open burning when the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) meets or exceeds 500.

Drought is the third-costliest natural disaster in the country, and goverment scientists just reported in an academic journal the natural disaster is poised to get worse