Latest news with #FloridaFireService
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Recent rains helped, but most of Florida still very dry and this heat wave won't help
More than 14 million people in Florida, 51% of the state, are suffering from drought conditions ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought, according to NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. That's down sharply from the 17 million and more than 84% of the state last week, due to recent rainfall. One portion in particular shows a marked difference: An area stretching from Daytona Beach west is now considered under severe, instead of extreme, drought conditions. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location In South Florida, extreme drought conditions continue, although rainfall earlier in the week moved the east coast out of the driest area. No rain is in Florida's immediate forecast and a heat wave is forecast to bring temperatures into or near triple digits into the weekend, and then into early next week. As of May 15, there were 26 wildfires burning 1,824 acres, according to the Florida Fire Service. There are 15 counties under burn bans, down from a high of 23 last week. The mean statewide drought index is at 258, a marked difference from the 466 last week. Use the slider to compare drought conditions on May 8 and on May 15. Sections of Florida suffering from extreme drought changed dramatically between May 8 and May 15 after rain moved down the state between May 9-12. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System said 51% of Florida is under drought conditions, down from 84% May 8. The state is still dry, with most areas suffering from conditions ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought. ➤ '80% of homes lost to wildfires could have been saved.' Here's what you can do The breakdown of drought conditions in the state (compared to May 8 percentages) which affects 14.1 million residents, is: Abnormally dry: 36.5% (12.6%) Moderate drought: 20.8% (34.3%) Severe drought: 21.1% (24.4%) Extreme drought: 9.1% (25.5%) Exceptional drought: 0% (0%) ➤ Maps: See drought conditions by county Don't expect rain to return anytime soon. The Florida Department of Emergency Management warned conditions will remain dry starting May 15 and into the weekend, bringing "sensitive wildfire conditions," especially to portions of east Florida. There is a "isolated chance for a brief shower or two" across Northwest Florida Saturday. "Temperatures will gradually warm up each day and we will see temperatures return to the 90s across most of the state by the end of the week Florida weather forecast through May 17-18 weekend, according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. "By Friday and Saturday, feelslike temperatures will reach the middle to upper 90s across most of the state, with areas along the Panhandle and interior West Florida approaching or reaching triple digits (100-105-degrees)." Here's your weekend forecast: Pensacola: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Tallahassee: Saturday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 95. Sunday: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 95. Jacksonville: Saturday: Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Sunday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 96. Daytona Beach: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Melbourne: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Port St. Lucie: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 92. West Palm Beach: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Naples: Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 89. Fort Myers:: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Sarasota: Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Orlando: Saturday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 96. Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 96. Historically, Florida's rainy season begins between mid May and early June, according to the National Weather Service. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index mean for Florida was 258 on May 15. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. As of May 15, there were no counties with a drought index over 600, which means severe drought conditions and an increased risk for wildfires. There were nine counties with a drought index over 600 a week ago. According to the Florida Forest Service, as of May 15, burn bans are in place for the following counties: Charlotte Collier DeSoto Glades Hardee Hendry Highlands Lake Lee Manatee Okeechobee Orange Osceola Pasco Sarasota The open burning of yard debris is always prohibited in these counties: Duval Hillsborough Orange Pinellas We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida heat wave. Despite rains, drought impacts half of state
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
82% of Florida experiencing drought conditions. See worst areas and whether rain expected soon
More than 82% of Florida is suffering from drought conditions ranging from moderate to extreme, according to NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. Two areas of extreme drought exist in the state, with the largest in South Florida now extending from coast to coast. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location The drought is keeping the number of wildfires burning in the state high, with 102 burning Friday, May 2, according to the Florida Fire Service. There is a possibility of rain this weekend. There are 23 counties under burn bans, almost one-third of the state's 67 counties. The mean statewide drought index is at 488. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System said 82.2 percent of Florida is under drought conditions, ranging from moderate to extreme. ➤ '80% of homes lost to wildfires could have been saved.' Here's what you can do The breakdown of drought conditions in the state, which affects 16.6 million residents, is: Abnormally dry: 16.5% Moderate drought: 35.5% Severe drought: 29.9% Extreme drought: 16.9% Exceptional drought: 0% ➤ Maps: See drought conditions by county "Rainfall deficits over the last 90 days have reached widespread of 2-4" inches below normal throughout most of the state, with areas north of and along the I-10 corridor as well as much of South Florida seeing larger departures near 4-8' below normal," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Even North Florida and the Panhandle is seeing abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought. The Climate Prediction Center is "predicting above-normal temperatures for the entire state and leaning below normal rain chances throughout the Big Bend and the Peninsula for the month of May," according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Rain chances are expected to increase for some areas over the weekend, though, especially on the state's west coast and east-central Florida, according to the National Weather Service. There were 16 active wildfires burning as of Friday morning. The largest fires in the state are: Hurst Hammock Fire: 200 acres in Escambia County. 80% contained Sidell East Fire: 34 acres in Manatee County. 90% contained Crooked Creek Lane Fire: 25 acres in Hardee County. 80% contained "Wildfire names are generally based on the geographic location of the fire or a nearby geographic feature," according to Tim Brown, communications manager with the Florida Forest Service, in an email. "For example, the '344 Fire' was due to its location near 344 Street." Don't look for any rain Friday for most of Florida, but isolated showers — only 20% chances — are possible in the morning and early afternoon south of Patrick Space Force Base. Isolated showers and lightning storms are possible near the St. Lucie/Martin County coasts, according to the National Weather Service Melbourne. Western Panhandle, Pensacola: Mostly sunny. High 80. Low 72. Central Panhandle, Tallahassee: Mostly sunny. High 87. Low 63. Northeast Florida, Jacksonville: Mostly sunny. High 87. Low 67. East Coast, Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Stuart: Slight chance for showers in the morning, then partly sunny. High 82. Low 69. South Florida, West Palm Beach, Naples: Slight chance for showers in the morning, then partly sunny. High 77. Low 75. Southwest Florida, Fort Myers to Sarasota: Mostly sunny. High 80. Low 71. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index mean for Florida was 488 on May 2. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. As of May 1, there were 14 counties with a drought index over 600, which means severe drought conditions with an increased risk for wildfires. There were 17 Florida counties with a mean Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500, which means drought or increased fire danger. Here are the counties with a drought index over 600, which is associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurring: Counties in bold were just added to each section. Broward: 622 Charlotte: 639 Collier: 656 DeSoto: 612 Glades: 627 Hardee: 638 Hendry: 658 Lake: 611 Lee: 668 Manatee: 628 Miami-Dade: 622 Monroe: 622 Palm Beach: 645 Sarasota: 634 Counties with drought index in the 500s: Brevard: 547 Citrus: 515 Flagler: 543 Hernando: 530 Highlands: 593 Hillsborough: 578 Marion: 505 Martin: 594 Okeechobee: 561 Orange: 576 Osceola: 528 Pasco: 599 Pinellas: 530 Polk: 587 Seminole: 579 Sumter: 590 Volusia: 593 Another eight of Florida's 67 counties have index numbers in the 400s. Here's an explanation of what the Keetch-Byram Drought Index numbers mean, according to the Wildland Fire Assessment System. 0-200: Soil moisture and large-class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation. 200-400: Typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity. 400-600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers actively contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. 600-800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. According to the Florida Forest Service, as of May 2, 23 burn bans are in place for the following counties: Brevard Charlotte Citrus Collier DeSoto Flagler Glades Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Lake Lee Manatee Okeechobee Orange Osceola Pasco Polk Sarasota Seminole Sumter Volusia The open burning of yard debris is always prohibited in these counties: Duval Hillsborough Orange Pinellas We will continue to update our weather coverage as conditions warrant. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida drought, dry weather has Wildfires burning. Will it rain soon?
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Florida Fire Service officials educate public ahead of wildfire season
SOUTHPORT, Fla. (WMBB) — Spring is approaching, and so is the wildfire season. Wildfire threat is worse in the spring because of the warmer and drier weather conditions. Florida Fire Service officials are encouraging the public to be wildfire-ready. 'The National Weather Service forecast for this weather season is for us to be very dry throughout the Panhandle. We're just cautioning the public to be very cautious during the upcoming months,' Florida Fire Service Public Information Officer Aleese Maples said. Circuit Judge Patterson reelected for Chief Judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit Wildfires can be caused by human activity or other weather events such as lightning. Officials said the best defense is to remove items that can act as fuel for the flames. 'If you live in the wildland-urban interface, make sure you don't have any debris or anything right up on the side of your house,' Maples said. Also, be careful when burning trash. Two of the last major wildfires in the Panhandle started as trash burns. The Mussett Bayou fire in South Walton County started on May 6, 2020, burning 343 acres and dozens of homes. The Chipola complex wildfires were a series of fires that burned more than 34,000 acres in the Bay, Calhoun, and Gulf counties. It started in March of 2022, using dead trees left by Hurricane Michael as fuel. 'Yard waste is one of the number one reasons for a while in fires. We just want to let the public be aware of when they choose to burn what the weather conditions are because they're not only endangering their own property, but they're endangering property around them,' Maples said. 17 Bay County churches come together to celebrate National Marriage Week Officials said they're wildfire-ready as well. 'Our firefighters have their equipment ready for when they are dispatched to a fire. Staying fire-ready is being close to where they're stationed and ready to receive that phone call,' Maples said. For more information on severe weather awareness week and wildfires, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
