Miami

South Florida's Rainy Season Starts Early, Could Be Above-Average: NWS

South Florida's rainy season began two weeks early this year and could bring above-average rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.

In a Wednesday news conference from their Miami office which serves Broward and Miami-Dade counties, the NWS announced their outlook for the wet season, which officially began on May 15th. NWS officials said rainy season conditions first became established May 1st.

As the predictability of the overall coverage of showers and thunderstorms is low, due to the scattered nature of summer rains, the wet season looks to feature above-average total rainfall. This is most likely to occur on the front end of the season, with drier conditions possible towards the tail end of the period. The NWS listed this forecast as "low to medium confidence."

However, higher confidence was given to the likelihood of warmer temperatures this summer, most notable in the overnight and early morning lows.

South Florida’s rainy season is the primary provider of moisture, with nearly 70 percent of the year's total annual rainfall coming in the period of May through October. Miami averages 42.28 inches of precipitation each rainy season while Fort Lauderdale averages 38.97 inches.

Just last year, in 2018, the rainy season was changed from a floating start and end date to a fixed date, May 15th to October 15th, each year.

Representatives from the South Florida Water Management District also attended the session and stated that they are well-positioned for the rainy season. Lake Okeechobee is currently hovering at a depth of 11.21 feet.

The seasonal forecast for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season will be released Thursday, May 23rd from Washington, D.C.

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