AgNet DEMO

Category: Drought

  • Drought Monitor: South Florida Remains Abnormally Dry

    South Florida received a substantial amount of rainfall last weekend, but it still remains dry across the region. According to the Thursday’s release of the US Drought Monitor the majority of south Florida and parts of central Florida are abnormally dry. Even counties like Monroe, Collier and Palm Beach are classified ‘D1’ or in a moderate drought.

    The abnormally dry conditions extend as far north as Citrus County, Marion County, Putnam County and Flagler County.

    South Georgia still has enough moisture from the excessive rains it received in February. There are about 20 counties in north Georgia that are abnormally dry. They start in Henry County and Clayton County and extend as far east as Elbert County and Hart County.

    There is also a few counties that abnormally dry along the Georgia-Alabama line. They include Haralson County, Carroll County and Heard County.

    In Alabama, the abnormally dry counties are Cleburne County, Randolph County and Chambers County along the Georgia-Alabama state line. There is a small portion that is abnormally dry in Monrore County and Wilcox County.

  • Timely Rainfall Just ‘What the Doctor Ordered’ for South Florida Region

    South Florida was thirsting for rainfall prior to last weekend. The abnormally dry conditions were alleviated a little bit with steady moisture that soaked the region, says Gene McAvoy, University of Florida/IFAS Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus.

    US Drought Monitor graphic shows how dry Florida was last week prior to the rainfall last weekend.

    “We got about an inch and a half down around Immokalee (Florida). Some places were a little better,” McAvoy said. “It was a nice soaking rain, exactly what the doctor ordered.”

    The dry weather created dire conditions for vegetable and specialty crop producers in the middle of their production season. According to the US Drought Monitor, most of the South Florida and Central Florida regions were abnormally dry last week. Some counties, like Collier County where McAvoy is located, and Monroe County, Palm Beach County and small parts of Broward County and Hendry County were classified in a moderate drought.

    “We were starting to get awful dry around here. I’ve been hearing problems with things like blossom end rot and some of those issues that you see when it does get dry and it’s hard to keep the soil moisture constant,” McAvoy said.

    The next US Drought Monitor update will be released on Thursday.

  • South Florida Remains Abnormally Dry

    It continues to be hot and dry in South Florida. The abnormally dry conditions cover much of middle Florida down to South Florida, according to the US Drought Monitor.

    Portions of South Florida, including Monroe County, Collier County, Hendry County, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County are classified as ‘D1’ or in a moderate drought.

    Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Manatee County, southern Pasco County and western Polk County are the only parts of central Florida not abnormally dry.

    In Georgia, the only part of the state abnormally dry is in north Georgia, extending from Henry County and Clayton County to Elbert County and Hart County. The western part of the state, along the Georgia-Alabama line, including Haralson County, Carroll County, Heard County and part of Troup County are abnormally dry as well.

    The only part of Alabama that is abnormally dry is along the Alabama-Georgia line, including Cleburne County, Randolph County, Chambers County, Tallapoosa County, Clay County and small parts of Talladega County and Calhoun County.

  • South Florida Producers Dealing with Abnormally Dry Conditions

    South Florida is abnormally dry. While it is not uncommon this time of year, vegetable and specialty crop producers are having to adjust with their irrigation management, says Gene McAvoy, University of Florida Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus.

    “It’s pretty characteristic of this time of year in South Florida. We’re in the height of our dry season now. We had a little rain with the last front that went through; anywhere from a few tenths to a half inch, but yeah, it’s dry out there,” McAvoy said.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of middle Florida to South Florida is classified as ‘D0’ or abnormally dry. With hot and dry conditions being the case for most of this region, it can lead to additional concerns for farmers beyond just water needs.

    “Seasonally, we’re seeing an increase in insect pressure, particularly, things like whiteflies, worms, pepper weevils. Again, it kind of goes with this time of year. We’ve been planting since August, so populations build up,” McAvoy said.

  • Warmer Temps Mean Increased Pest Pressure in South Florida

    Temperatures are starting to warm considerably in South Florida. Vegetable farmers need to be mindful of various insects that thrive in hot conditions.

    “It’s been warming up so you kind of expect to see a flush of pests in the near future. It’s kind of hit and miss in some places with whiteflies and things,” said Craig Frey, University of Florida/IFAS Hendry County Extension Director.

    Conditions are certainly favorable for insect pressure to increase. According to the US Drought Monitor, Hendry County and most of South Florida are listed as abnormally dry.

    “The life cycles of the insects tend to shorten some. It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve had cold weather. Instead of it being moderate for a little while, it’s been pretty hot,” Frey said. “They’re just reproducing quickly and starting to become more of an issue in different areas.”

    “Pepper weevils, definitely, if you’re growing peppers; whiteflies for a lot of different things. They can be an issue on beans, even. Thrips are an issue on beans and tomatoes. Really, thrips and whiteflies on most crops. They’re two of the big ones.”

  • December 2020 Final Outlook Shows No Strong Trend

    Graphic shows a drought outlook for the country for December.

    According to the UGA Extension Climate and Agriculture blog, the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released the latest 30-day climate outlook on Monday. It shows that there is no strong trend towards warmer or colder conditions in December except in southern Florida.

    Early December will be colder than normal. It is still expected to be warmer than normal in late December. Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension Agricultural Climatologist, said the combination for the month as a whole could go either way, leading to a forecast of equal chances.

    The precipitation is also for equal chances of near, above or below normal except for a slight tilt towards dry conditions in Alabama. The latest drought outlook shows a large part of eastern Georgia and adjacent areas of South Carolina and Florida with likely development of drought.

  • Potential La Nina Weather Event Could Impact Pecans Later This Season

    An increasing likelihood of a La Nina weather event this fall could impact row crop farmers and specialty crop producers as well, said Pam Knox, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agricultural Climatologist.

    “When we do have a La Nina, we do tend to have a little bit drier than normal fall. Dryness in the fall isn’t necessarily bad. It’s helpful for the people that’s trying to harvest. It’s just that if you’re trying to fill in the last of the pecans or get a little more growth out of the peanuts then dry conditions are not necessarily good,” Knox said.

    According to the pecan production calendar, pecan’s water requirements are especially high in August and September. UGA pecan experts say water needs are 300 to 350 gallons per tree per day or 3,600 to 4,200 gallons per acre per day.

    Knox said we are in a La Nina watch right now and is unclear how strong of a La Nina it’s could be.

    “Typically, when we have a La Nina occurring, and right now we’re under a La Nina watch, the conditions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean are cooler than normal. They’re expected to stay that way. Usually it takes four months before they’ll declare an official La Nina,” Knox said. “The predictions are it might last until January or February and then go back to neutral conditions. It’s not necessarily one that’s going to be really long.”

  • Cristobal Expected to Bring Rain to Southeast

    By Clint Thompson

    Tropical Depression Cristobal’s expected movement into the Gulf of Mexico should bring much-needed rainfall to North Florida and South Alabama. Pam Knox, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agricultural Climatologist, says rains over the next week should alleviate some of those drought conditions.

    Map from the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center shows Cristobal’s expected path this weekend.

    “The whole Florida Panhandle and then stretching west into the Mobile (Ala.) area has been quite dry. So, they were missed by a lot of the storms that hit north Georgia and north Alabama. They’ve been fairly dry,” Knox said. “They’ve gotten a little bit more relief lately but it’s still dry there. I’ve seen some reports of fires in the area and continuing problems with the dry conditions.

    “The latest seven-day forecast for rainfall, which includes the rainfall that’s coming from Cristobal, looks like the southern part of Georgia and Alabama and the whole panhandle of Florida and really all of north Florida is going to be affected by the rain from this.”

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all of north Florida is either in abnormally dry, moderately dry or severe dry conditions. It’s also the case for southwest parts of Alabama.

    Cristobal is already the third named storm of the season. Knox said the average date for the first sea storm is Aug. 13 so it’s already a real active storm season. But she cautions weather enthusiasts that just because it’s active now doesn’t mean it will stay that way over the course of summer and into fall.

    “All of the ingredients are there for it to be an active season. We’re in neutral conditions and looks like we’re going to go into a La Nina. That definitely correlates with an active season in the Atlantic. 2019 was active but we only had a couple of storms that affected the Southeast. Even though it’s active, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be big impact for the Southeast. It could,” Knox said.

    While tropical storms and hurricanes can be intimidating with their heavy rains and fierce winds, Knox reassures that they are necessary to replenish dry soils.

    “Tropical storms have an important role to play in the Georgia climate because maybe up to 30% of our summer rain comes from these tropical systems. If we don’t get tropical storms, we could easily go into a drought,” said Knox, who described how Cristobal works. “If you think about how a tropical storm spins, it’s counter-clockwise. It’s going to move west of us most likely. That means we’re going to be in strong flow of air coming up from the south. It’s very juicy air. It’s going to really help set off a lot of rain.

    “Some of the forecasts for rain in the Florida Panhandle, we’re looking at 5 to 7 inches or more of rain over the next week. A lot of that’s going to come right ahead of Tropical Storm Cristobal.”

    Knox said north Alabama and north Georgia aren’t expected to receive as much rain.

  • Recent Rains Helping Alleviate Parts of Florida’s Drought

    By Clint Thompson

    This week’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor is expected to show improvement to Florida’s current drought conditions. That’s the belief of David Zierden, a state climatologist at Florida State University’s Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies.

    “I anticipate the drought monitor will show improvement, especially in north Florida. Right now, it seems the driest part of the state is down in southwest Florida, around the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Naples area. That’s looking to be the driest part of the state right now, after these recent rains,” Zierden said. “Now that we’ve been in this cycle of one storm after another and bringing frontal and low-pressure systems that bring rains to the state, we’re at least holding our own if not easing the drought situation.”

    Record Heat In March

    According to last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor, the central and southern parts of Florida were either in moderate drought or severe drought. It’s a continuation from March when there was little rainfall and extreme temperatures.

    “Especially the month of March was record-setting warm here in the state of Florida, like 7.1 degrees warmer than normal for March. For a state-wide average, it was definitely a record. On top of that, much of the peninsula, basically from Gainesville south, only received a few hundredths or a few tenths of an inch of rain during March. That’s what really accelerated the onset of drought quickly and pretty dramatically,” Zierden said.

    Water Shortage in SW Florida

    The drought has been so bad in the southwest part of the state that, according to a press release, the Southwest Florida Water Management District issued a Phase I Water Shortage for the District’s central and southern regions on Tuesday. This includes Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

    The primary purpose for a Phase I water shortage is to alert the public that watering restrictions could be forthcoming.

    A Phase I water shortage order does not change allowable watering schedules, however it does prohibit “wasteful and unnecessary” water use.

     Zierden said the recent rains should ease the state into the summer thunderstorm rainy season.

    “These rains in April have really been important and help make this transition into the summer rainy season much easier than it would have been if we would have had a dry April,” Zierden said.

  • Long Drought Leads to Water Restrictions in One Florida County

    By Clint Thompson

    A water restriction has been placed on one Florida county because of the long drought. Gene McAvoy would not be surprised if more restrictions will follow.

    On Friday, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Lee County announced mandatory irrigation restrictions. According to the press release, the restrictions were to address low aquifer levels. They went into place on Saturday.

     “On the coast, they rely a lot more on wells, well fields. Water levels in the aquifer has dropped to extreme levels. That’s why they started with Lee County,” said McAvoy, UF/IFAS Extension agent emeritus. “I haven’t seen anything like this (drought) since 2008.”

    Long Period of Dry Weather

    The most recent map of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Florida either in abnormally dry, moderately dry or severely dry conditions. Lee County, whose county seat is Fort Myers, is experiencing a moderate drought and severe drought in different parts of its county.

    “We did have a little bit of rain in Southwest Florida (Sunday) night, but it was really (just) enough to settle the dust in most places,” McAvoy said.

    According to the press release, Florida’s southwest coast received only 14.72 inches of rain from September 2019 to March 2020. That’s a deficit of minus-7.64 inches. In March, the southwest coast recorded only 0.27 inches of rain, only 12% of average.

    Due to the extended drought and record heat, Florida agriculture has been negatively impacted.

    “I’m actually in a (citrus) grove right now. Because of drought stress and the record heat we’ve been enduring the past few months, the trees are shedding fruit,” McAvoy said. “Farmers are not able to harvest them quite as fast as the fruit is falling off the tree. (We) probably got two boxes per tree on the ground right now in the grove I’m in right now.”

    The current rainfall deficit, extreme heat and decreasing surface and groundwater levels are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the dry season. It typically ends around the end of May.

    In a previous VSCNews story, climatologists fear that the drought will get worse before it gets better.