ORLANDO, Fla. – A slow-moving, nearly stationary front combined with an area of low pressure brought days of soaking rain from April 6–9 2026.
This persistent setup delivered much-needed rainfall across Central Florida, likely putting a decent dent in the ongoing rainfall deficit. The highest impacts are being felt along the coast.
BREVARD COUNTY
The heaviest rain fell in Brevard County, where multiple locations picked up 5 to 8+ inches of rain, with the highest totals north of Melbourne and around Palm Shores.
- Palm Shores: 8.20″
- Palm Bay: 6.96″
- Rockledge: 6.73″
- Cocoa Beach: 6.67″
- West Melbourne: 6.25″
- Melbourne: 5.53″
- Merritt Island: 5.35″
- Indialantic: 3.91″
- Cocoa: 3.82″
- Melbourne Airport: 3.79″
- Titusville: 1.69″
LAKE COUNTY
Rainfall totals were lighter inland, generally ranging from about half an inch to just over 1.5 inches.
- Groveland: 1.68″
- Paisley: 1.58″
- Clermont: 1.10″
- Leesburg: 1.09″
- Lady Lake: 1.08″
- Tavares: 0.74″
- Leesburg Airport: 0.70″
- Lisbon: 0.63″
OSCEOLA COUNTY
A modest but steady rainfall event brought around 1 to 1.5 inches for most locations.
- Kissimmee: 1.52″
- St. Cloud: 1.10″
SEMINOLE COUNTY
Totals stayed mostly under an inch, with a few spots just over that mark.
- Lake Mary: 1.24″
- Winter Springs: 1.03″
- Longwood: 0.99″
- Sanford: 0.87″
- Sanford Intl Airport: 0.72″
VOLUSIA COUNTY
Volusia County saw a solid soaking, especially along the coast and coastal inland areas, with several spots topping 3 inches.
- Port Orange: 3.49″
- New Smyrna Beach: 2.68″
- Edgewater: 2.18″
- Ormond-By-The-Sea: 1.94″
- Blake: 1.88″
- DeLand: 1.64″
- Lake Helen: 1.62″
- Orange City: 1.31″
- Daytona Beach Airport: 1.11″
- DeBary: 1.10″
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update did not show much change across the region, mainly because it did not fully account for this latest round of heavy rainfall that fell after the cutoff period.
However, other indicators are starting to show improvement. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which measures soil moisture and how dry the ground is, showed a noticeable drop across parts of Central Florida.
On the graphic, the lower the number, the better the soil moisture conditions. That suggests this week’s rainfall is already helping to improve ground moisture, even if it hasn’t fully shown up in the official drought map yet.