AgNet DEMO

Category: Drought

  • Drought Still a Problem for Florida

    The latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows how dry conditions are in Florida and in parts of southern Alabama and Georgia.

    By Clint Thompson

    Even with much-needed rainfall this week and more expected this weekend, Florida remains in a drought; severe in some cases. The southern portions of the state and along the peninsula will remain drier than normal for the foreseeable future, according to Pam Knox, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension state climatologist, .

    “I’ve been watching the drought in Florida because we’ve had issues along the south border in Georgia. I know things have been worse in Florida. I heard David Zierden (state climatologist for the Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies) give a talk about it this week. He thinks it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better,” Knox said. “I have a friend in Miami, and they’ve been setting records for the number of days in the 90s. I don’t see for most of the peninsula of Florida that they’re going to have big relief soon.”

    Much of the central part of the state, including Polk County and Hillsborough County, is classified in a severe drought or ‘D2’ status, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, The majority of Florida is in ‘D1’ status or classified in a moderate drought.

    “Eventually the rainy season will come, and they’ll get some relief at that point. But in the meantime, it’s going to be pretty hard on producers, especially those who are growing forage or who need fairly moist conditions,” Knox said. “I don’t think there’s going to be short-term relief from the drought in the Florida peninsula.”

    In the northern part of Florida, as far west as Escambia County, across the state to Nassau County, conditions are a little better but still classified as abnormally dry, which is also the case for the southern part of Georgia.

    “It looks like to me the next couple of weeks are going to be fairly wet, not continuously wet, but I think we’re going to get two or three storms that will go through and bring us some rain,” Knox said. “For those areas, I think there will be some relief. But I think farther south in Florida, the front may not get that far and so they may be stuck in the warm and fairly dry air for at least the next couple of weeks until we switch into more of a summertime pattern.”

    The northern parts of Georgia and Alabama remain fairly wet as vegetable producers, especially those in Alabama, try to get their plants in the ground.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Mobile County and Baldwin County remain in moderate-to-severe drought status along the Gulf Coast.

  • High Rainfall Probabilities Look Promising for Florida Agriculture

    By Ashley Robinson

    There may be light at the end of a dark and dry tunnel for Florida farmers with increased chances of rainfall over the upcoming week.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of Florida is classified as moderately dry.

    According to Gary England, RSA/Director for the Hastings Ag Extension Center in Hastings, Florida, the same weather system currently ushering severe weather into the Southeast will elevate rainfall chances in the Hastings area beginning today.

    “The one system moving through right now is supposed to go stationary, meaning it will hang around, keeping things mixed up. So, we’ll have a pretty good chance of rain from that through Wednesday.”

    The front is expected to move south down the peninsula Thursday and stall once again, somewhere near the Big Lake, thus keeping a chance of some showers in northeast Florida through Friday. In addition, a second front is expected to pass through the region on Saturday, stalling in central Florida. This will keep rainfall chances moderate to high through the weekend. 

    According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, the Hastings area can expect to see 1.0 to 2.0 inches of rainfall through next Monday.

    “It seems like the regions who are experiencing the worst of the drought are in the areas we’re expecting some rainfall,” England says. “However, that still has to materialize. These stationary fronts may be predicted to be in one place but could remain 50 miles south or north. Rain chances can dramatically change so we’ll have to see how it plays out over the next week.”

    Lack of rainfall for the months of March and April have caused concerns for Florida farmers.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the state of Florida is experiencing abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions. Most of Wakulla County, Florida and parts of Liberty and Franklin County, Florida are deemed ‘D2’ status which is a severe drought.

    GROWERS CONCERNS

    Florida’s growers are no strangers to dry spells and having to utilize irrigation systems during periods of less than average rainfall. However, applying more irrigation than normal can create additional issues for growers on top of the high costs to operate the irrigation systems. 

    “Generally, we’re pumping water out of the Florida Aquifer. The chemistry of the water in the Hastings area tends to be a little more saline. So, with extended periods of irrigation you could see some harmful effects from that,” England says.

    In addition, increasing temperatures could be troublesome for growers.

    “It’s not always uncommon for March or April to be fairly dry. However, what we’re seeing in this situation is very warm temperatures,” England says. “We’ve had dry March’s and April’s, but the high temperatures were in the 70’s and low 80’s. These warm temperatures that we’re seeing during this dry period can move the crop ahead, possibly maturing a week or so ahead of time.”