A wildfire exploded to 25,000 acres in South Florida this week amid the state’s worst drought in 25 years. Nevertheless, some much-needed rain is anticipated to supply a modicum of reduction starting Thursday and lasting by the primary half of the weekend.
The Nationwide Hearth reached 25,000 acres in Huge 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 for the reason that starting of 2026, the Florida Forest Service stated earlier in February.
In line 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”, essentially the most since 2001.
Florida has been in a chronic dry sample for the reason that 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 by the autumn and has held by 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 stress will swing out of the Plains and convey slightly reduction to the Southeast late Wednesday.
In line with the FOX Forecast Middle, a chilly entrance related to this method will start to drop rain throughout elements of Tennessee and North Carolina by Thursday morning, earlier than spreading throughout the South together with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina by 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 by Saturday morning.
Naples, Florida is nearly over 1.5 inches under their common rain year-to-date and West Palm Seashore is 5 inches under its common.
In line with the FOX Forecast Middle, West Palm Seashore has but to see a single day with rain this 12 months, over a fifteenth of an inch. Components of South Florida might double their rain whole 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 by Georgia and Central Florida, together with the Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Orlando metro areas.
Whereas this can be a welcome break from the dry situations, drought situations are anticipated to persist by the remainder of Florida’s dry season, which lasts till Could.
