It's only February and there have already been several modest sized wildfires in the state. Just today houses north of Tampa had to be evacuated due to a large wildfire. The problem is...wildfire season is usually late April through early May!! And we've got until mid-June before any kind of significant rainfall occurs. Furthermore, a greater-than-usual number of frosts the last few months have killed lots of vegetation...everything is brown already. The last three years have seen the driest period since the 1950s. The map below shows the drought index (on a scale of 0-800). Again, we won't get anything more than a sprinkle here and there until June (it's not unusual to get just .5-1in of rain in March or April).
Not looking too good for the Sunshine State...
Originally Posted by tacitus
