South and Central Florida Brace for More Flooding Rainfall

While most of the eastern third of the U.S. has been begging for much-needed rainfall, it has been a different situation in Florida. This corner of the region has seen the lion's share of the precipitation out East over the last few weeks, smashing the historical average for this part of the country. Here is a look at what Mother Nature has been dealing the Sunshine State.

Soggy Sunshine State

Much of the Florida peninsula has been dodging persistent rain showers and thunderstorms since the start of September. This trend is forecast to continue in the short term with more rain on the way.

How wet has it been? The city of Orlando in Central Florida has picked up 6.35 inches of rain this month as of September 17. This is almost double the historical average for the month by this point.

It has been even soggier to the south in Miami. This metro area has recorded 14.30 inches through the first 17 days of September. This translates to about two and a half times the historical average. The immense rainfall puts this month as the third-wettest start to September in 130 years of recorded history.

Moving to the north up the coast, Fort Lauderdale has seen over 9 inches of rain, while Daytona Beach has picked up over 8 inches of rain since the start of the month.

The Gulf Coast of the peninsula has enjoyed significantly drier conditions. For example, Tampa has only picked up 0.56 of an inch, amounting to about 9% of the norm for the entire month. This is the third-driest start to the month of September for Tampa.

The Florida Panhandle has been even drier. The capital city of Tallahassee has not picked up any measurable rain since August.

Looking at a few other dry spots, Jacksonville has measured 0.30 of an inch, while the college town of Gainesville has recorded a mere 0.03 of an inch.

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