A wildfire exploded to 25,000 acres in South Florida this week amid the state’s worst drought in 25 years. Nonetheless, some much-needed rain is predicted to supply a modicum of aid starting Thursday and lasting via the primary half of the weekend.
The Nationwide Fireplace reached 25,000 acres in Large Cypress Nationwide Forest close to Naples amid bone-dry situations on Tuesday, in response to the Nationwide Climate Service (NWS).
Florida’s Division of Transportation warned drivers in Collier County Tuesday about heavy smoke being produced by the blaze, in addition to drivers within the close by Everglades about smoke from brush fires in that area.
Greater than 650 wildfires have been noticed throughout the state because the starting of 2026, the Florida Forest Service stated earlier in February.
In keeping with the US Drought Monitor, 98 p.c of the state is experiencing some stage of drought, with over 67 p.c in “extreme drought”, probably the most since 2001.
Florida has been in a protracted dry sample because the 2025 hurricane season.
“Tropical methods, for all of the destruction they trigger, nonetheless produce a number of rain,” the FOX Forecast Middle stated.
2025 was a uncommon Atlantic hurricane season that noticed no landfalling hurricanes within the US. That lack of rain continued via the autumn and has held via this winter.
Drought situations are additionally worsening for different elements of the area, together with Georgia, the place 100% of the state is experiencing drought, though not fairly as extreme as Florida’s.
An space of low strain will swing out of the Plains and convey slightly aid to the Southeast late Wednesday.
In keeping with the FOX Forecast Middle, a chilly entrance related to this technique will start to drop rain throughout elements of Tennessee and North Carolina via Thursday morning, earlier than spreading throughout the South together with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina via the day.
The chilly entrance will slide south, bringing rain into the Florida Panhandle and the northern and central elements of the state by Friday afternoon, and showers are anticipated to linger via Saturday morning.
Naples, Florida is nearly over 1.5 inches beneath their common rain year-to-date and West Palm Seaside is 5 inches beneath its common.
In keeping with the FOX Forecast Middle, West Palm Seaside has but to see a single day with rain this 12 months, over a fifteenth of an inch. Components of South Florida may double their rain complete for the 12 months with this one shot of rain.
Rain totals will typically be round 1–2 inches throughout a hall from East Tennessee via Georgia and Central Florida, together with the Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Orlando metro areas.
Whereas it is a welcome break from the dry situations, drought situations are anticipated to persist via the remainder of Florida’s dry season, which lasts till Might.
