ORLANDO, Fla. – Abnormally dry to Drought conditions first fully engulfed all of Central Florida on December 23, 2025.
All of Central Florida was officially under a drought on Feb 24, 2026. Drought conditions have continued ever since. Our current drought even included the longest stretch of severe drought conditions since the multi-year 2000-2001 drought.
While considerable progress has been made recently, drought conditions still plague much of the state. As of Thursday, 1,289,709 Central Floridians are still under drought conditions, 11 million across the state. Here’s the problem, Florida’s rainy season begins to wind down by mid-October as we typically transition to our dry season pattern by the end of the month. With that said, the same global teleconnection that has eviscerated the Atlantic hurricane season this year may also help alleviate our drought here locally.
El Niño is most commonly referenced when looking at hurricane seasons as it supercharges the Pacific and limits the Atlantic. However, El Niño changes patterns globally that reach far beyond just hurricane season.
For Florida specifically, we typically see a wetter dry season as El Niño helps create a stronger subtropical jet stream over the southern U.S. during the winter months. This will increase the amount of storm systems that cross over the state, helping to increase the rainfall we see compared to normal.
The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has released their updated 90 day Precipitation Outlook forecast for October-December which shows an above average trend for Central and Northern Florida. With more frequent rain expected as we move into our typical dry season, Florida may be able to make even more progress in restoring our water levels.
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