Drought — Metropolitan Miami-dade, Florida

2018-05-01 to 2018-05-15 · Metropolitan Miami-dade, Florida

Event narrative

Precipitation totals since February were only at 25 to 50 percent of normal levels across a large part of coastal and metro Miami-Dade County, with a swath of less than 25% percent along the northern end of the county from North Miami Beach to Miami Lakes. This prolonged period of below normal rainfall led to low groundwater levels across this area. The onset of heavy rainfall and localized flooding associated with the rainy season put a quick end to the severe drought by May 15th.

Wider weather episode

A prolonged dry spell since February continued through the middle of May, leading to lingering severe drought conditions over parts of Miami-Dade County as well as western Collier County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 760598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.