Drought Information Statement for South Florida 09 18 2025 Issued By: NWS Miami-South Florida Contact Information: sr-mfl.webmaster@noaa.gov This will be the last product update until Severe Drought returns to South Florida. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/mfl/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Webmaster email or public phone line likely preferred, but individuals may choose to include their contact information directly. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor U.S. Drought Monitor for South Florida U.S. Drought Monitor valid 8am EDT September 18th, 2025. Drought Continues to improved over South Florida. Drought intensity and Extent D1 (Moderate Drought): Metro areas of Broward/Palm Beach Counties. D0 (Abnormally Dry): Around Lake Okeechobee. Geography Availability: United States WFO: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/current/current_wfoabq_text.png Where it says “wfoabq” change the last 3 letters to the desired CWA in terms of “wfoxxx” (excluding SJU, PPG, or GUM, only regional data available) State: Replace where it says “wfoabq” change to the state’s abbreviation Regional: Replace where it says “wfoabq” change to either of the following… Caribbean → current_caribbean_text Pacific Islands→current_usapi_text Ex; southeast → current_southeast_text Ex; midwest → current_midwest_text Ex; high plains → current_high_planes_text Ex; south → current_south_text pdf National (including HI, AK, and PR): https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20220823/20220823_usdm.png USAPI and Virgin Islands: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20220823/20220823_usdm_pg2.png Recent Change in Drought Intensity 4-week change map for South Florida Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: [State each county or region within WFO region where a class degradation occurred. If nowhere is under a class degradation, remove subheading.] No Change: [State each county or region within WFO region where no class change occurred. If nowhere is under no change, remove subheading.] Drought Improved: [State each county or region within WFO region where a class improvement occurred. If nowhere is under a class improvement, remove subheading.] Image Caption: U.S. Drought Monitor 4-week change map valid 8am EDT April 6th. Feel free to use other timescales if they tell a better story, or hide this slide if there’s no notable changes in your region. 4 weeks is a good default if you’re producing this product ~once per month as required by the directive. 1-Week Monitor Class Change (replace CHS with your WFO ID): https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/chng/png/current/current_wfoCHS_chng_1W.png Comparison of current drought monitor with drought monitor from 4 weeks ago for a desired WFO station: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/chng/png/current/current_wfoCHS_chng_4W.png Changing date: Replace where it says “current” twice with the date in terms of “YYYYMMDD” Ex; July 5th, 2022 → 20220705 Precipitation Rainfall observed with the departure and percent of normal since JAN 1, 2025 The following table gives the rainfall from January 1, 2025 to September 17th, 2025: Observed Dep fm Percent Airports: Rainfall Normal of Normal Palm Beach Intl 31.95 -13.59 70% Naples Municipal 36.41 -3.11 92% Ft Lauderdale-Hollywood Intl 32.92 -10.78 75% Miami Intl 49.72 +0.31 100% Secondary Observation Sites Moore Haven (Glades) 40.11 -0.08 100% Opa Locka (Miami-Dade) 29.05 -17.08 63% HomeStead (Miami-Dade) 42.78 -3.41 93% Hialeah (Miami-Dade) 46.67 -6.48 88% Palm Beach Gardens (Palm Beach) 27.99 -21.15 57% North Miami Beach (Miami-Dade) 27.11 -22.53 55% Devils Garden (Hendry) 39.42 -4.59 90% Image Captions: Left - Precipitation Amount for [area] Right - Percent of Normal Precipitation for [area] Data Courtesy High Plains Regional Climate Center. Data over the past 30 days ending September 17th, 2025 If longer-term drought is dominating in your region, you can use longer-timescale imagery to support that message. All data can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/maps.php?maps=ACISClimateMaps If you prefer a higher resolution precip source such as AHPS (https://water.weather.gov/precip/), that’s also okay but will have to be added manually each time. If little to no imagery is available for your area (i.e. USAPI) you may consider a data table. Some USAPI precipitation imagery available here:https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/drought/202303#regional-usapi and here: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update Pacific Island Climate Update for ENSO: Monthly Reports, find the PDF on this site: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update and consider linking to it here if it’s not too out of date MSWEP: https://www.gloh2o.org/mswep/ may be another option. Other options: Precipitation Station Data from USGS: Stations in each State: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/current/?type=precip&group_key=NONE To change state, alter link where it says “/al/” and change to desired state’s abbreviation. Homepage: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis Precipitation Reports for Basins from WCC Availability: SNOTEL and COOP stations for each state in the west including Alaska. State: https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/SummaryReports/AZ/BPrecip_8_2022.pdf Where it says “AZ” change to desired state abbreviation to other states such as AK, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY. Replace where it says “Precip_8_2022” and change the “8” to the desired month of year and “2022” to the year wanted. Homepage: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Temperature Summarize conditions/impacts here Image Captions: Left - Average Temperature Right - Departure from Normal Temperature Data Courtesy High Plains Regional Climate Center. Data over the past 30 days ending 6, 25, 2025 Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Lake Okeechobee level currently at 13.07 FT which is -1.52 FT below normal of 14.59 FT Locks on Lake Okeechobee are opened but could be closed at anytime due to the water level being close to the shortage critical line. Fisheating Creek at 5.62 FT which is near the normal level which is around 5.30 FT. The underground level water conservation area 1 in Interior Palm Beach County is at 16.79 feet and it should be at 17.34 feet which is -0.55 feet below normal for this time of year. The Underground level water conservation area 2 in Interior Broward County is at 13.65 feet and its normal level is 12.72 feet which is +0.93 feet above normal for this time of year. The underground level water conservation area 3 in Interior Miami-Dade County is at 9.47 feet and its normal level is at 10.21 feet which is -0.74 feet below normal for this time of year. Fire Hazard Impacts KBDI index is below 100 over most areas of South Florida, except for Glades, Palm Beach and Collier Counties where it is between 100 and 200. This puts all of South Florida in a low risk of wildfires. Other Impacts Airboat tour companies are now saying that the water levels in eastern portion of the Everglades is now back to normal levels. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Summarize conditions/impacts here Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid MM DD YYYY Soil moisture over South Florida is near normal conditions. Agricultural Impacts Image Captions: CPC Calculated Soil Moisture Ranking Percentile valid September 17th, 2025 Fire Hazard Impacts Currently there is no fire burns in effect for South Florida. South Florida has an equal chance of above and below normal wildfire for the month of October. Latest FL Burn Ban map available here. Image Caption: Significant Wildland Fire Potential Monthly Outlook for October 2025 Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Latest FL burnmap at https://ffsfm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/1f6572c92f8d41ec860f461ea433819b Seven Day Precipitation Forecast South Florida will see Isolated to scattered showers and storms. Total rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts up to 5 inches over interior areas. Image Caption: Weather Prediction Center 7-day precipitation forecast valid Thursday September 18th to Wednesday September 24th 2025 Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. Summarize conditions and impacts here Image Caption: Days 8 to 14 U.S. Hazards Outlook Valid Month DD to DD. Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal temperatures for Oct-Dec 2025. Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal rainfall for Oct-Dec 2025. Image Captions: Left - Climate Prediction Center Monthly Temperature Outlook. Right - Climate Prediction Center Monthly Precipitation Outlook. Valid MM YYYY Image Captions: Left - Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Temperature Outlook. Right - Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Precipitation Outlook. Valid MM to MM YYYY Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Image Captions: Left - Climate Prediction Center Monthly Temperature Outlook. Right - Climate Prediction Center Monthly Precipitation Outlook. Valid OCT-DEC 2025 Image Caption: Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook Released MM DD, YYYY valid for MM-MM YYYY Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The drought over South Florida should improved through December 2025 Image Caption: Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook Released 09 17, 2025 valid October through December 2025 Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook