The Tallahassee area may have another shot at rain.
Well maybe less than that given that the typical shot glass holds 2.7 inches of liquid.
But caught in the grips of an exceptional drought, even the forecasted quarter of inch to three-quarters of an inch is welcome.
After a record daily rainfall on May 2 and dry start to the week, the National Weather Service of Tallahassee says a coming cold front gives us a “good chance” at rain on May 7.
“Additional rain is possible Friday into Saturday, but that hinges entirely on whether the cold front fully clears the area or not,” the agency wrote in its morning forecast discussion. “If it doesn’t, more rain would be in the offering Friday and/or Saturday. We’ll see.”
Wright Dobbs, an NWS meteorologist in Tallahassee, told the Democrat that any amount won’t bust the historic drought. Before the recent rains, the Tallahassee area needed to see about 20 inches of rain over the next two months to undo the drought.
But the precipitation forecast comes at a good time, Dobbs said.
“With April and May it is one of our two drier times of the year, so any amount we get we are gonna take with the ongoing drought,” he said. “It’s definitely beneficial.”
He added that while they aren’t expecting a lot of severe weather with the system, a strong storm can’t be ruled out.
Florida fire danger persists even after rain
The U.S. National Forest Service is reminding residents that the rain has not diminished the fire threat facing much of Florida, including the Big Bend.
“The area remains in an extended drought for the foreseeable future… The high fire danger persists as vegetation quickly dries out, and a single spark can start a blaze,” the agency wrote in an emailed update. “The public is reminded to stay proactive and prevent the start of new human-caused wildfires.”
Leon County itself remains under a burn ban.
“Recent rain provided short-term alleviation of some of our drought conditions, but it is going to take much more, almost 25 inches of rainfall over an extended period of time, to get out of our full drought,” Rick Davis, the National Weather Service emergency response meteorologist who has been monitoring fire weather, wrote in a statement.
This year is already shaping up to be one of the most active wildfire seasons on record. Furthermore, the month of May, which is also Wildfire Awareness Month, is a critical month for wildfire activity in Florida.
“We already have exceeded our average yearly wildfire activity before hitting this peak period and need the public to stay vigilant in preventing new wildfire starts,” said Mike Keys, fire management planning specialist for the National Forests in Florida,
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee may get more rain this week amid drought
Reporting by William L. Hatfield, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
