Strong La Nina In Place; No Relief In Sight For Florida

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long absence! A cold front passed through the region bringing much welcomed rains through much of Florida. My rain gauge measured a total of 0.85" of precipitation over the storm period. This was the first rain recorded in over a month. This dry streak skipped all of October for most of the area (I recorded a one day mark  of 0.06" in Early October). Approximately 34 days had passed since measurable water could be recorded at Orlando International Airport, falling only a week short of the all-time rainless streak at any given time for our location. The rain sure was welcome, although the roads experienced many accidents due to the slick conditions. I guess we forgot how to drive in the rain (sarcasm).

La Nina is in full force. In case your unaware, La Nina occurs when colder than normal water temperatures are prevalent in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with emphasis on the equatorial waters. This has an affect on the atmospheric circulations and weather patterns. La Nina has various impacts depending on your locale. The Southeast generally experiences warmer temperatures and drier conditions, which can be expected during the winter months. Currently, La Nina is at -1.8 in a scale of +2.7 through -2.1. A La Nina event occurs when there is a deviation of water temperature of -0.5 C. At this point, with La Nina being at -1.8, we can consider this a strong La Nina event. The effects have been felt already in Florida, with higher than normal temperatures and dry conditions, unusual even for the dry season, which starts around Mid-October.

Hurricane season is almost over but does not want to leave without a bang! Tomas caused alot of damage in the Leeward Islands, mostly in St. Lucia, as well as Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica. Tomas reached peak strength in the Caribbean before wind shear, common during the later phases of the hurricane season, weakened Tomas to a Tropical Storm. Tomas has cleared through the Caribbean making a Northeasterly turn and expected to head out to sea, as it gets dragged out by the strong cold front that brought us the rains.

Forecast is dry and sunny for the rest of the week with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s, climbing back into the low 80s later in the week. Before we get there, we will see temperatures in the 30s in north interior regions of Florida, with low 40s expected in the Orlando metro area. Have a great weekend!