November brings above-average rainfall to some areas, while others see drier weather

A map illustrates rainfall across the St. Johns River Water Management District.

PALATKA, Fla., Dec. 12, 2017 — While November brought above-average rainfall to counties across the northern and southern coast of the St. Johns River Water Management District’s 18-county service area, central Florida saw less rain than usual.  A full report outlining hydrological conditions was presented at the district’s December Governing Board meeting.

“While we continue to see some rain, during winter, weekly irrigation isn’t always needed,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle. “This winter, we’d like to encourage homeowners to skip a week of irrigation. By skipping every other week of watering this season, homeowners in north and east-central Florida could help save more than 1 billion gallons of water.”

• The county with the highest rainfall for the month was Flagler with 4.6 inches, followed by St. Johns with 3.8 inches and Marion with 3.7 inches.
• Below-average rainfall was recorded in most of central Florida, starting in central Volusia County, into the Orlando area, southern Lake County and further south into Osceola County. Seminole and Orange counties received less than half an inch of rain each for the month.
• When looking at annual rainfall totals, 12-month rainfall totals are 7 inches above average across the district.

More information about the district’s hydrological conditions can be found online at www.sjrwmd.com. To learn more about landscape irrigation and skipping a week of watering during winter, visit sjrwmd.com/SkipAWeek.