The widespread rain that soaked the Gulf Coast earlier in the week provided only a little relief to our worst drought in 24 years.
The U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday still shows an extreme drought gripping most of Southwest Florida, even after most neighborhoods picked up 1 to 3 inches of rain from Sunday night into Monday.
The extreme drought, shaded in red, did shrink slightly thanks to the recent downpours, but most of that improvement was deeper inland across Glades, Hendry, DeSoto and eastern Charlotte County; those areas dropped from an extreme drought to a severe drought.
However, most of Lee County, all of Collier County and western portions of Charlotte County remain in an extreme drought, which is a level 4 out of 5 drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Southwest Florida's rainy season officially begins Thursday, but we're likely going to have to wait another two to three weeks before we transition into our rainy season pattern.
Rainfall projections from May 15 through May 25 only show a trace to a few hundredths of an inch across Southwest Florida as the deeper tropical moisture needed for rainy season to begin stays well south of our area.
The wet season tends to last about 5 months, starting on May 15 and ending on October 15.
The Gulf Coast receives roughly 75% of its annual rainfall during the rainy season, averaging between 40 and 45 inches of rain (Fort Myers, Page Field Airport).
Burn bans are still in place for every county in Southwest Florida until further notice.
On May 1, new water regulations went into effect in Cape Coral amid the extreme drought conditions.
Count on the Gulf Coast Storm Team to keep you updated on the drought, as well as the expected arrival of rainy season.
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