Drought — Glades, Florida

2017-05-01 to 2017-05-31 · Glades, Florida

Event narrative

Although more rain fell in May compared to the previous months across SW Florida, it was still too sporadic to alleviate drought conditions. Northern Glades County was in D3 (Extreme Drought) status while the southern part the county remained in D2 (severe drought) conditions. A burn ban was in effect for the entire county.

Two wildfires in Glades County burned about 6,000 acres in the middle of the month, damaging three outbuildings and a pickup truck.

Wider weather episode

Continued dry weather and below normal precipitation going back to late 2016 led to severe drought conditions across Southwest Florida. A total of 117 new fires were reported by the Florida Forest Service, resulting in 43,500 acres burned. Crop production slowed as a result of the very dry conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 704149. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.