Tampa Bay hasn’t seen much rain in the month of May. In some areas, not a single drop has fallen.
This is the cause of some worry for Paul Close of the National Weather Service, who said a continued lack of rain could lead to an increased chance of wildfires and, potentially, drought for the region if it continues into June.
With humidity down and wind levels up, a nearly 100-acre brush fire in Lithia threatened power lines and nearby homes Monday night. Though an official cause of the fire was not released by authorities, Close said the local conditions were conducive for wildfires to begin and spread.
Tampa Bay, as of Wednesday afternoon, is 1.1 inches below its normal rainfall total for this point of May, Close said. On average, the region experiences 2.85 inches for the month as a whole, which is already one of the driest of the year.
Close emphasized there is no need to panic about the lack of rain. “One good thunderstorm” could return Tampa Bay rain totals back to normal, he said. The question is: When will that thunderstorm come this month, if it comes at all?
A forecast from the weather service says there is a 20 percent chance of rain for Friday. Besides that, no rain is in the forecast through the weekend. Close expects a similar forecast for next week, with wind levels remaining high and the air dry.
“We desperately need some rain,” said Spectrum Bay News 9 Meteorologist Nick Merianos on Wednesday. “It has been quite a while since we’ve had some significant rainfall here.”
Some parts of Tampa Bay have seen no rain in the month of May, such as Plant City and Zephyrhills. Close said his hometown of Valrico hasn’t recorded a drop of rain in 29 days.
Even where it has rained, it certainly hasn’t poured. A gauge at Tampa International Airport recorded just .16 of an inch of rain this month, all of which came from a brief shower on May 6. Before that, the airport had not recorded a drop since April 20.
Despite the dry weather, Close said it shouldn’t cause people to worry about droughts just yet. Especially after a wetter-than-usual winter and start to April.
May is historically a dry month for Tampa Bay, Close said, and is usually followed by a rainy June.
“Nobody is in a drought yet,” Close said. “But we’ll have to start worrying if we don’t see rain for the next couple of weeks.”
May 20, 2021 at 04:10AM
https://www.tampabay.com/weather/2021/05/19/tampa-bays-dry-weather-spell-could-contribute-to-wildfires-drought/
Tampa Bay’s dry weather spell could contribute to wildfires, drought - Tampa Bay Times
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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