While the weekend rain brought some relief to Central Florida, the season’s dry spell is set to continue throughout the week, according to forecasters.
And that includes Volusia and Flagler counties, which saw between 0.5 and 1 inch of rain Sunday, Feb. 15, into Monday, Feb. 16.
Sunday’s rain was part of a cold front that swept across most of the state, and whose lingering breezy conditions persisted through Monday.
Temperatures will stay pleasant throughout the rest of the week in Volusia and Flagler, with highs slowly climbing from the mid 70s into the 80s by the coming weekend.
However, “there is no mentionable rainfall through Friday (Feb. 20), increasing drought and fire weather sensitivities,” according to the forecast.
The lack of rain over the last several weeks has contributed to increased fire risks in both counties, forcing Flagler officials to extend a burn ban that was first issued on Feb. 6. It is in effect until Feb. 20.
How much rain did Daytona, Flagler County get over the weekend?
The showers and thunderstorms brought slightly different levels of rainfall across Volusia County, according to Brandan Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
In the Daytona Beach area, the agency recorded approximately 0.6 inches of rain.
“It looks like most places were in the 0.5-inch range,” Schaper said. “There were probably some higher totals around Ormond Beach, maybe three-quarters of an inch.”
According to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, parts of Flagler County saw slightly higher rainfall totals.
Some areas in Palm Coast saw close to 0.8 inches of rain, while southwest areas of the county saw almost 1 inch.
The strong storms and winds put Flagler and most of northeast Florida under a tornado watch through the afternoon until 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Dry stretch to continue in Volusia, Flagler counties with uncertain low weekend rain chances
The rain may have offered a brief relief to both areas, where wildfires and dry conditions have persisted for several weeks, but the chances of rain soon remain low, Schaper said.
“Models don’t really agree too much on the timing, but there may be some additional low chances for rain by the later part of next weekend,” including a 20% chance of rain on Sunday, Feb. 22, he said.
That’s because of yet another cold front that might be pushing through Central Florida around that day and into early Monday, Feb. 23, at which point highs might only reach the 60s.
But until then, there are no chances of rain over the next seven days.
“It’s going to be a dry stretch,” Schaper said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Weekend rain in Daytona, Flagler not enough to end dry spell
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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