February rainfall below average across the district

A map illustrates rainfall totals across the district.

PALATKA, Fla., March 13, 2018 — February proved to be a dry month for the 18 counties within the St. Johns River Water Management District, with most of the district receiving less than an inch of rain. By comparison, average February rainfall for the district’s southern counties ranged between 2.5 and 3 inches.

The good news: Despite a month of mostly dry weather, 12-month rainfall totals are still above average throughout most of the district.

Rainfall during February followed the trend of below-average rainfall for many counties, with a few exceptions. Highlights:

• Seminole, Brevard, Volusia, Indian River and Orange counties all received less than 0.5 inches of rain.
• Baker County received the most rain at 1.64 inches, but this is still less than half the county average for February.
• Putnam County has the highest 12-month rainfall total at 66.8 inches.
• Silver Springs’ flow increased slightly during February, ending the month in the high-flow range at 711 cubic feet per second or 459 million gallons a day.
• The Keetch-Byram Drought Index shows favorable conditions for wildfire are beginning to develop in south Florida.

More information about the district’s hydrological conditions can be found online at www.sjrwmd.com.