Drought Information Statement for East Central Florida Valid March 20, 2025 Issued By: WFO Melbourne, FL Contact Information: sr-mlb.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated April 18th or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/mlb/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/ for regional drought status updates. Below normal rainfall through the central Florida dry season has allowed moderate (D1) to severe (D2) drought conditions to develop across the area. Drier than normal conditions are generally favored through the remainder of the dry season (end of April), which is forecast to allow drought conditions to persist or worsen through the Spring. U.S. Drought Monitor Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None D3 (Extreme Drought): None D2 (Severe Drought): Portions of Lake County D1 (Moderate Drought): Much of northern east central Florida and southern Martin County D0: (Abnormally Dry): Much of Osceola, central Brevard, Okeechobee, northern Martin, and southwest St. Lucie counties Recent Change in Drought Intensity Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Portions of Lake, Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Martin counties No Change: Much of east central Florida Drought Improved: Portions of Osceola, southern Brevard and northeast Indian River counties Precipitation For much of east central Florida, rainfall has been below normal over the past 90 days, especially near to north of Orlando and across Martin County where precipitation totals have been around 40-60% of normal. However, periods of locally heavy rainfall, mainly during the second half of December and late in February, have led to near to above normal rainfall for portions of the Treasure Coast and southern Brevard County. Temperature Temperatures were much colder than normal in January across east central Florida. However, overall warmer conditions during the rest of the mid-December through mid-March period, led to average temperature values over the past 90 days that were near to above normal across the area. Summary of Impacts The latest 7-day average streamflow indicates a few locations reporting values that are below normal (10-24% of normal) to much below normal (<10% of normal), mainly across northern portions of east central Florida (https://waterwatch.usgs.gov/) Agricultural Impacts There are no known impacts at this time Fire Hazard Impacts No burn bans are currently in effect across east central Florida. However, due to the drier conditions, the potential for significant wildland fires remains above normal for March and April. (https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive-services/outlooks) Other Impacts Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) values have been increasing across the region, with highest values ranging from 500-549 across Martin County, and around 400-499 across northern counties of east central Florida. (https://fireweather.fdacs.gov/wx/kbdi_index.html) Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Streamflows averaged across the region over the past 7 days are near normal (25-75% of normal). Fire Hazard Impacts While some burn bans are in effect for portions of south/southwest Florida, there are none currently active for east central Florida. However, the potential for significant wildland fires remains above normal. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Mostly dry conditions are forecast through late March. The next best chance for rain across east central Florida during this time frame will be from Monday, March 24th through Tuesday, March 25th. However, overall rainfall totals are forecast to remain rather low, generally around a quarter of an inch or less. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The outlook for the 3-month period from April-June favors average temperatures ending up above normal across central Florida (~50-60% chance) . The outlook for the 3-month period from April-June is for equal chances for above, near and below normal rainfall across central Florida (~33.3% chance for each category). Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The outlook through the remainder of the dry season (end of April) is for drought conditions to generally persist or worsen across east central Florida. However, as the wet season begins across central Florida (typically toward late May/early June), then drought conditions are generally forecast to improve and potentially end through late June.