Record low rainfall in Central Florida

DeLand saw its lowest summer rainfall total ever...

2006 one of the driest years on record...

2006 will go down as one of the driest years on record across east-central Florida. The dry conditions can largely be attributed to the strong influence of enso (el nino-southern oscillation) on Florida weather. Last winter and Spring were dominated by La Nina... which typically results in drier than normal conditions across the state. Rainfall deficits continued during the Spring and early Summer... resulting in an increase in devastating wildfires across the area. El Nino conditions developed during the Summer which had a significant impact on tropical storm and hurricane development in the Atlantic Basin. The general lack of tropical activity across the region contributed to additional rainfall deficits during the late Summer and through the fall... when significant rainfall is often quite common across the area. El Nino
conditions are expected to continue through early 2007... which will likely result in above normal rainfall through the remainder of the dry season.

Below is a list of some notable rainfall totals from around the
forecast area:

Location 2006 rainfall total rank record low rainfall/year
Deland 37.09 inches 1 39.28/1974 (previous)
Stuart 37.77 inches 1 38.02/1981 (previous)
Daytona Beach 31.39 inches 2 31.36/1956
Lisbon 32.66 inches 2 29.26/2000
Vero Beach 33.56 inches 2 32.70/1961
Orlando area 36.35 inches 3 30.38/2000
ft Pierce wp 33.84 inches 3 30.07/1917
Sanford wp 37.25 inches 5 32.83/2000
Sanford Arpt 41.27 inches 6 33.16/1967
Melbourne 39.95 inches 7 31.97/1981