The beginning of the year has been dry, with lawns turning brown and sources of water drying up.
But the end of the dry season is almost here, and chances of rain this week could help Tampa Bay’s thirsty plants.
Meteorologist Yidiana Zayas from the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office says storms will form south of Tampa Bay on Wednesday and move north as the day goes on.
There will be a 40% chance of rain Wednesday afternoon. The weather service says that there is a 70% chance of rain on Thursday.
Zayas said that the storms will probably be spread out across the area, and as of Tuesday afternoon, the weather service had not predicted any serious weather.
Spectrum Bay News 9 Weather tweeted on Tuesday that the rain is coming from a low pressure area that is building in the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to fall over most of the state.
Zayas said that the storms on Wednesday and Thursday are not likely to bring more than a half-inch of rain. A tweet from Bay News 9 Weather says that it hasn’t rained at all in April, which is.79 inches less than the average for the month.
This time of year, it’s not rare for it to be dry. The dry season in Tampa Bay lasts for eight months, from October to May. The Southwest Florida Water Management District says that about 60% of the year’s rain falls in our area during the wet season.
With the weather being so dry, there is a chance of flames. Because of a wildfire, the Florida Highway Patrol closed the northern lanes of I-75 in Lee County on Saturday. Hernando County said on Tuesday that public fires, such as bonfires and campfires, are no longer allowed.
Tampa Bay is in a “severe drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a national tool used to measure drought across the country.
The usual amount of rain in March in the Southwest Florida Water Management District was.56 inches, the district said. In the past, more than 3 inches of rain would fall in the month.
Darrin Herbst, head of the district’s Water Use Permit Bureau, said that a drought is a long time of dryness that makes it hard to get enough water.
“We may be dry right now, but we don’t really have a water supply problem because the aquifers are still in good shape and we have these backup reservoirs,” Herbst said.
Tamera McBride, the district’s Hydrologic Data Manager, said that when figuring out if there is a water shortage, the water management district looks at rainfall over the past 12 and 24 months, normal stream flow, lake levels, and national tools.
McBride said, “We like to focus on the long term because that’s when problems really start to arise.” “A month under normal circumstances might not be a problem. But if it keeps going on and on, that’s when problems start to show up.”
From April 2022 to March 2023, the district will get a little more than 52 inches of rain. This is just.22 inches less than the average rainfall for a year.
“I think the word ‘drought’ might be a little more alarming and startling to people,” McBride said. “It probably depends on what point of view you have.”
For example, a farmer might have to spend more money to water their crops, which would have a bigger effect on them. As someone who checks the water source, McBride thinks the area is in good shape.
Part of the reason for this is that it rains a lot during the wet season. McBride said that both Hurricanes Ian and Nicole put a lot of rain on the area, which has helped keep groundwater levels high.
