For some, Florida drought is getting very "extreme"

[D. Morrowii]

Added 1.10” today, everything is nice and soaked. Looks much soggier down south there though. 

[sonoranfans]

3.6 inches overnight everything is totally wet now.  Still cloudy and calling for more the next few days.  Itrrigation system will stay off till 3-4 consecutive days without any rain.  Seems like the rain just missed us last year till 2nd week in august.  Glad we are in that  wet season pattern now.

[Looking Glass]

Got close to 5 inches at the house yesterday, with totals ranging around 3-5 inches around the county, depending on the exact location.   But it was spread out over the day, so not too bad.  
We are getting hammered now though, much worse than yesterday.  The street is fully underwater now, which means it’s really dumping fast.  Yesterday wasn’t enough to swamp the road.  It will drain off super quick once things slow down.  But we’ve crossed over into “too much”.  

[Palmarum]

Ugh.

Three-point-one inches yesterday and so far, 4+ today since noon. I-95 near me is shut down. FLL is flunked with 8-hour delays. Takes a lot to flood here and the medians are underwater.

Plants are happy at least. 

Ryan

[Looking Glass]

2 minutes ago, Palmarum said:

Ugh.

Three-point-one inches yesterday and so far, 4+ today since noon. I-95 near me is shut down. FLL is flunked with 8-hour delays. Takes a lot to flood here and the medians are underwater.

Plants are happy at least. 

Ryan

I was just watching the weather channel and they said we just got 4-5 inches in the past 2  hours, which fits with what the back yard and road looks like.  It’s slowed again so things are draining off, but more red blobs on the way soon enough.  Somewhere between 6-12 more inches to go over the next couple days they say.  The usual roads and low spots will be flooded on and off.  The ole Jeep Wrangler with the oversized tires will be earning its keep this week. 

[D. Morrowii]

I was wondering how you Southies were doing down there. I’ve been keeping tabs on the radar today and its looked like a never ending river from West Palm Beach to Miami.  It’d be better to get 15” of rain over 15 days instead of 3 but at least it drains away pretty quickly. 

[flplantguy]

Full blazing all day sun here. The old pattern continues im starting to think the sand hills should be considered subtropical desert since my cacti seem happiest and im even hand watering THEM. The .85 inches yesterday is long gone in dry sand here, while south gets dumped on. Its typical for florida i guess but still annoying.  Good thing i know i need an irrigation system no matter what and can ignore the forecast pretty much. The best rains I've ever gotten here were from non-forecasted events. Even tropical storm Debby was supposed to go west before it gave us a ton of rain 12 years ago. Other tropcial storms have been nice, but some random stationary rain storms are better at giving large totals it seems.

[SeanK]

Lookin' Good

[SeanK]

Morning Update 

[Looking Glass]

Rainless and gloomy all day today, but supposed to pick up again shortly.  How much?…. Somewhere between 0.5 to 12 inches more they say…. Lol. 

Plants are enjoying the tropical steam bath….

[SeanK]

Hopefully see some big growth over the next few weeks.

[kinzyjr]

Thus far, tallied 4 inches of rain this week.  If we get more tonight or tomorrow, I'll gladly take it.  The grass is growing like bamboo now and the palms really needed it.  Currently sitting at ~5.5 inches for the month. 

While the rain was much needed, the suppression of the awful heat wave has been a wonderful secondary benefit.  My yard has cleared 100F 6 times already.  That's the downside to a UHI.  I had been concerned about the CFPACS tour tomorrow with all of the days over 100F and having the group walking on our hilly urban landscape, but the temperatures during our tour should be much more comfortable, thankfully.

[flplantguy]

A total of .9 inches from the rain event and have been missed by the storms these past two days.  Rainy season for me is everywhere but here still, unless one of the random ones gets me a soaker.  With the pattern expected to return to "normal" i hope that this changes, soon.

[D. Morrowii]

1 hour ago, flplantguy said:

A total of .9 inches from the rain event and have been missed by the storms these past two days.  Rainy season for me is everywhere but here still, unless one of the random ones gets me a soaker.  With the pattern expected to return to "normal" i hope that this changes, soon.

We ended up with 2.3” of rain here over the entire event. Not too shabby especially since it was in moderate doses. Everything looks better but Its already starting to dry up again. 

 

3 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Thus far, tallied 4 inches of rain this week.  If we get more tonight or tomorrow, I'll gladly take it.  The grass is growing like bamboo now and the palms really needed it.  Currently sitting at ~5.5 inches for the month. 

While the rain was much needed, the suppression of the awful heat wave has been a wonderful secondary benefit.  My yard has cleared 100F 6 times already.  That's the downside to a UHI.  I had been concerned about the CFPACS tour tomorrow with all of the days over 100F and having the group walking on our hilly urban landscape, but the temperatures during our tour should be much more comfortable, thankfully.

I need to check but I’m pretty sure I didn’t see mid 90 temps until July or August last year. Theres already been a steady stream of 90s this year and it’s only June!

[Looking Glass]

We ended up with about 13 inches over a few days in my spot, with more in certain areas around town.   Today was sunny, then blasted with quick showers of about 0.8 inches.  
Even the little snakes were coming up on the porch to dry off yesterday.   They were sick of it too.  

[kinzyjr]

9 minutes ago, Looking Glass said:

We ended up with about 13 inches over a few days in my spot, with more in certain areas around town.   Today was sunny, then blasted with quick showers of about 0.8 inches.  
Even the little snakes were coming up on the porch to dry off yesterday.   They were sick of it too.  

The only times I see black racers on my cement letting me approach them - hurricanes and when it freezes.  The last time was December 2022 when it hit 30F and didn't go above 50F for two days.

[Hillizard]

4 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

We ended up with about 13 inches over a few days in my spot, with more in certain areas around town.   Today was sunny, then blasted with quick showers of about 0.8 inches.  
Even the little snakes were coming up on the porch to dry off yesterday.   They were sick of it too.  

 

Probably a Diadophis punctatus edwardsii  (aka northern ringneck snake). You got one to visit in the rain; another species of ringneck comes into my house when it's too hot and dry!

Diadophis punctatus edwardsii - Wikipedia

[Matthew92]

My parents are in Tampa right now, and they said they've never seen it so dry. Palm fronds yellowing, drooping, browning, trees with brown leaves, even a whole tree they saw that is seemingly dying.

And here I've been moping about not getting rain for 2 weeks in my area...

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

My parents are in Tampa right now, and they said they've never seen it so dry. Palm fronds yellowing, drooping, browning, trees with brown leaves, even a whole tree they saw that is seemingly dying.

And here I've been moping about not getting rain for 2 weeks in my area...

The last two years have been a bit of a shock.  For my time here, they're unprecedented, but many lifetime residents who were here for the 1998 drought have said it can get way worse.  That's hard to imagine, but experience is a good teacher.  The weather predictions are way off, too.  I'd have to go back and count, but I think I'm at 12 days where the rain chances were at least 50% and we didn't get a drop of rain vs. 5-6 days where we did.  When we do get rain, it's in amounts that are roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the predicted amount most of the time.  

Reading the comments on an article about the rain in Manatee county the other day, my attention was drawn to a comment from a poster in Sarasota who stated that it used to rain pretty much every day in the summer and it no longer does that.  My thought process was the same for here.  It would always get really hot, fast.  Then the showers would come around 5pm-6pm and cool things off as we headed into evening.  The grass had to be mowed every 3 days with that regime, but at least everything was green and growing well.

In my travels, I've seen magnolias dropping their leaves this year.  102F with 33% humidity and no rain is just not conducive to most of the plants we grow.  Looks like I'm either putting in another live oak for shade when I get the chance or switching from palms to Saguaro and Yucca brevifolia.

[Jimbean]

3 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

The last two years have been a bit of a shock.  For my time here, they're unprecedented, but many lifetime residents who were here for the 1998 drought have said it can get way worse.  That's hard to imagine, but experience is a good teacher.  The weather predictions are way off, too.  I'd have to go back and count, but I think I'm at 12 days where the rain chances were at least 50% and we didn't get a drop of rain vs. 5-6 days where we did.  When we do get rain, it's in amounts that are roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the predicted amount most of the time.  

Reading the comments on an article about the rain in Manatee county the other day, my attention was drawn to a comment from a poster in Sarasota who stated that it used to rain pretty much every day in the summer and it no longer does that.  My thought process was the same for here.  It would always get really hot, fast.  Then the showers would come around 5pm-6pm and cool things off as we headed into evening.  The grass had to be mowed every 3 days with that regime, but at least everything was green and growing well.

In my travels, I've seen magnolias dropping their leaves this year.  102F with 33% humidity and no rain is just not conducive to most of the plants we grow.  Looks like I'm either putting in another live oak for shade when I get the chance or switching from palms to Saguaro and Yucca brevifolia.

Maybe residents in west central Florida should consider planting Brahea spp.

[flplantguy]

I have considered planting even more desert plants and want to try a saguaro, but im sure the humidity will kill it even in sharp draining sand.  Half my plants are desert origin, the big problem is the feast or famine for rainfall can be such a big swing. Nothing and then too much is something many desert plants can't handle either, at least not for weeks on end. 

[kinzyjr]

12 minutes ago, Jimbean said:

Maybe residents in west central Florida should consider planting Brahea spp.

This Brahea armata was part of the presentation yesterday.  Hope it inspires additional attempts in the age of the Tampa Desert.

[Silas_Sancona]

14 minutes ago, flplantguy said:

I have considered planting even more desert plants and want to try a saguaro, but im sure the humidity will kill it even in sharp draining sand.  Half my plants are desert origin, the big problem is the feast or famine for rainfall can be such a big swing. Nothing and then too much is something many desert plants can't handle either, at least not for weeks on end. 

Since it's range extends down into the more humid reaches of Sonora proper, Saguaro might be ok. if sited well..

That said, i'd look at some of the other columnar cacti from deep in Mexico where it rains more than here ( -most years- ) / is very humid.. 

Species like Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum / P. weberi / grandis,   Various Stenocereus sps,  etc  from the  same regions also. 

Lots of choices for FL.

[Silas_Sancona]

8 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

This Brahea armata was part of the presentation yesterday.  Hope it inspires additional attempts in the age of the Tampa Desert.

[SeanK]

3 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

This Brahea armata was part of the presentation yesterday.  Hope it inspires additional attempts in the age of the Tampa Desert.

Must have done well last year

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

Must have done well last year

This one has done well since it was planted ~18 years ago as a very small specimen.  Here is a photo of it in Dec. 2007 from Google Street View:

There is another one now planted in the old "Phoenix Garden" south of where this one is located.  The other is in a mulched area and doesn't seem to be suffering from soil that is too moist or poorly draining, even during a wet fall and winter.

This is definitely a good option if you want to try a palm that will look OK, not have issues with cold, and won't need supplemental irrigation during droughts.  If this is our new weather pattern, @Jimbean has suggested a great solution from my point of view.

[SeanK]

I've seen adult B.armata in PHX. Spectacular looking palms. I suspect that small ones may struggle with humidity the first few years in our SE climate. Just like W.filifera, even in z8b or z9a, they would need a berm or sandy soil here.

[SubTropicRay]

This has changed for me since this was published last Thursday.  I've had 6 inches of rain if 4 days 😁😁  This kind of rain was non existent last summer.  Welcome back normal weather.

 

[flplantguy]

We had rain 4 days in a row, but the outskirts of it mostly, so the total was lower but the sand is still moist! It didnt dissapear in minutes but the surface will be dry today. Hopefully the pattern continues

[Matthew92]

In Southeast Okaloosa Cty FL, my location hadn't had rain since June 1st. There were 2 rain events since then that missed my location. It has been hard on plants because the temps have been in the mid 90's and above with low humidity. Only got half an inch yesterday (other locations very close to me probably got well over an inch). I'm getting the donut hole effect lately which is extremely frustrating. But even still, with those rain events we've had the coverage hasn't been extremely widespread across the region.

About a week ago, the 10 day forecast had every day with 50% change or higher of t'storms starting about 5 days into the forecast. Ever since then, it all just keeps getting pushed back as this ridge of high pressure is stubborn and apparently partly now with the storm in the Bay of Campeche it's causing a gradient and making the ridge balloon a little bit in contrast to that low pressure in the Gulf. Ugh...

That 1/2 inch yesterday helped just a little, but today some plants are already dry and even some of the grass is starting to feel crunchy again. 1/2 an inch is not enough to completely replenish the dry sandhill here. We need a good soak, and unfortunately this ridge of high pressure is going to suppress rain for another few days at least. And by that time, I have lower faith in the rainy pattern finally delivering after then because it has kept being pushed back lately and my hopes have been dashed too much.

It's funny cause yesterday when we finally got that 90+% humidity and storms all around (normal FL summer conditions), it felt like an anomaly amidst all this dry continental air from the NW and high pressure. Even last summer, in July of all months, that 90+% humidity and healthy cumulus sprouting up all over the place was not consistent. Those wetter conditions historically are a given almost every day in July here. This morning even felt like a late September morning after a cold front moved through...

Feels like something different going on with the weather pattern. I hope we switch to rain and gulf moisture flow from the south soon, cause this hand watering and looking at stressed plants is getting real old...

[sonoranfans]

rain last night again up to 9 inches for june.  Rain is magic for palms in the heat, they look more vibrant than they did two to three weeks ago.  Now I can relax on the manual watering, the dry spring is over.  

[sonoranfans]

Nice rain right now 88F palms are getting soaked.

[D. Morrowii]

4.6” here in MI fir the month. The grass and weeds are filling in and palm things are green and growing. Not perfect but pretty good. 

[flplantguy]

The rain keeps skirting my house since the irrigation isnt in yet. Im sure when i can get that done the rains will begin and it will drown the yard🙄. Rains always seem to do this here, but this past two weeks has been very frustrating watering while it thunders nearby after forming close and moving away.  The radar has been lit up with teasers, i cant wait to set the irrigation and leave it and watch the storms come as it rains and i have to run out and shut it off lol.  Anyone from florida probably knows what i mean, but these past two years have been difficult with the weather and trying to create a home. I like the clouds but even that is bad timing woth sun angle. The plants are doing well with the well water so thats a plus but dragging the hose today also caused some damage when i lost focus.  The 2.6 inches for the month fell on two days mostly, and some light amounts here and there.  Still have three months and a lot can happen in a short time.

[SubTropicRay]

[D. Morrowii]

2 hours ago, SubTropicRay said:

Thats about right I guess it doesn’t look droughty or dry over here but a couple of days of sun and heat could quickly reverse it. 

[kinzyjr]

@SubTropicRay Kind of weird that the east coast of Central FL is dry this time around.  It looks like we might close in on our monthly average here for a normal year.  Hope it came in time to rescue a few of my scorched palms.

[SubTropicRay]

The rain has again disappeared from my area as the dreaded west wind made infamous in 2023,  is riding high.

[flplantguy]

I got lucky with a quick onshore moving shower this morning and found out my rain guage on the tempest is confused.  I know it was a decent amount for a quick mover anyway and im happy. The forecast for the deep south is looking hot and dry but not quite this far south and regular sea breeze storms supposedly should be back but it seems those are in short supply in recent years.

[D. Morrowii]

Plenty of storms have be-bopped their way near my place but no rain drops for me in about a week.