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    • West Palm Beach had a dry November with the rise of La Nina
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    West Palm Beach had a dry November with the rise of La Nina

    Pabio Posted on

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    November ended as the driest in over a century in West Palm Beach with an unusual period of parched weather this left a deficit of more than 3 inches of rain for the month.

    Through November 30, only 0.13 inches of rain has been measured at Palm Beach International Airport, which is November 2024. the driest November since records began in 1888. The normal amount of rain for November in West Palm Beach is 3.62 inches.

    Most National Weather Service measuring stations in South Florida showed below-normal rain amounts in November, including Miami, which fell 3 inches and Fort Lauderdale, which fell 2.7 inches , according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

    The lack of precipitation led the U.S. Drought Monitor to label the majority of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties as abnormally dry in its November 27 report. About 80% of Palm Beach County is considered abnormally dry. The previous week’s report showed less than 1 percent of the county was in that category, which is the lowest on a five-tier drought scale.

    “We had a lot of expansive high pressure,” said NWS meteorologist Will Redman, explaining why November had less rain than normal. “And the current model doesn’t have enough energy or moisture for significant precipitation.”

    For the year, West Palm Beach received 62 inches of rain, an excess of 4 inches above normal.

    Statewide, recent dry conditions have left parts of the Panhandle and part of the northeastern part of the state in moderate drought. As of November 27, 16% of Florida was in moderate drought, with 36% considered abnormally dry.

    The cold front that moved through the state Friday evening and strengthening northerly winds through the weekend are not expected to alleviate dry conditions. Areas near Tallahassee expect no rain over the next seven days, but freezing temperatures and frost are forecast.

    More: Warmer, drier winter forecast for South Florida, with La Niña developing by end of year

    A Freeze Warning was in effect Saturday night through Sunday for much of the Panhandle.

    “We expect it to get down into the 20s to near 30, which seems cold but is not that unusual for this time of year,” said David Reese, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Tallahassee. “Normally our first frost happens around November 25, so that’s about on par with what we usually experience.”

    The recent dry spell could be the atmosphere’s reaction to the rise of the La Niña weather phenomenon, which has a 57% chance of arriving in December and persisting until March.

    Traditionally, La Niña means prolonged dry spells in South Florida during the winter months, a higher threat of drought and wildfires, and temperatures 1 to 3 degrees above the normal. Precipitation is typically 10 to 30 percent below normal during La Niña winters.

    Each of the previous eight La Niña winters brought moderate to severe spring drought to at least parts of South Florida, according to a report from the NWS Miami office.

    “All the forecast models indicate pretty clearly that there will be below normal precipitation,” Robert Molleda, meteorologist in charge of the NWS Miami office, said in a Nov. 18 dry season forecast.

    The dry season officially lasts from October 15 to May 15 in South Florida, dates designated by the NWS Miami office. State water managers pay close attention to these dates, especially in South Florida, where farms and some cities, including West Palm Beach, rely on Lake Okeechobee as a primary or backup water supply.

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    The Army Corps of Engineers announced in November that it would begin releasing more water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River and would begin releasing more water into the St. Lucie River on Dec. 7 to to lower the lake level from the current measurement of approximately 16 feet above sea level. Traditionally, the Corps has preferred to maintain the lake between 12.5 and 15.5 feet above sea level.

    If the level gets too high for too long, it kills submerged aquatic vegetation that is a building block of the lake’s ecosystem and vital to bass fishing. But discharges can also damage rivers by diluting brackish water with fresh water – a situation that can allow the growth of toxic blue-green algae, particularly during the summer months.

    Friends of the Everglades opposes Lake Okeechobee discharges out of fear of what will happen to northern estuaries.

    “This is not just an environmental issue,” the group said in a statement. “It’s a matter of public health and our water-dependent economies.”

    Kimberly Miller is a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today network in Florida. She covers real estate, weather and the environment. Subscribe to Dirt for a weekly real estate overview. If you have any news tips, send them to [email protected]. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

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