ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida’s dry season doesn’t just quietly end—it kind of shifts. From November through May, we get used to the sunshine, lower humidity, and fewer rain chances. But by late May or early June, you can feel things starting to change as the atmosphere ramps up for summer.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor update from Thursday, March 26 shows no improvement across the region compared to last week. Areas still shaded in red remain in extreme drought, and those in orange are dealing with severe drought.
Even with the recent rain, many cities are still behind for the month of March—though Melbourne is one of the few spots actually running above average.
April is usually the last big chapter of the dry season—and often the driest month of the year. That’s when wildfire risk is highest and water levels can run pretty low, right before the pattern starts to flip.
And then, things really start to change.
The wet season typically kicks off in the last week of May—around May 24 in Orlando and May 27 in Daytona Beach—and sticks around through mid-October. This is when Central Florida gets the bulk of its yearly rainfall.
Once it settles in, the pattern becomes pretty familiar. The heat builds during the day, clouds bubble up in the afternoon, and by late day you’re dodging thunderstorms. It’s that classic “rinse and repeat” setup, with high humidity and frequent downpours—especially from June through September when rain is most consistent.
So it’s not really a switch flipping—it’s more like a buildup. Central Florida gradually goes from dry and fire-prone to humid and stormy, settling into that daily summer rhythm we all recognize.