Drought — Metro Broward County, Florida

2011-05-01 to 2011-05-31 · Metro Broward County, Florida

Event narrative

The prolonged dry period over southern Florida continued through May, with the October 2010 to May 2011 period being the driest October to May on record at West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Naples. Total rainfall amounts for the month of May ranged from just over a quarter of an inch (0.25) to less than 3 inches, well below monthly normals. These low rainfall amounts led to underground water levels falling to the lowest 10 percent of normal levels over most of the area, except between 10 and 30 percent of normal in Collier County. The level of Lake Okeechobee dropped over a foot and a half to around 10 feet by the end of the month, around 3 feet below normal for late May.

These dry conditions led to several wildfires over much of south Florida. By the end of May, most of southern Florida was in an extreme (D3) drought status, except for an area of exceptional (D4) drought over eastern Palm Beach and Broward counties. This is the first time in well over a decade that any part of south Florida has been designated as being under exceptional drought conditions.

Wider weather episode

Long-term dry conditions over south Florida continued in May with the declaration of exceptional drought conditions over parts of southeast Florida by the end of the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 313855. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.