Below-average rainfall in October brought much needed relief to areas in central Florida

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

PALATKA, Fla., Nov. 8, 2022 — After Hurricane Ian drenched the central Florida region, below-average rainfall across the St. Johns River Water Management District was a welcome relief to those still experiencing flooding.

A full report outlining October’s hydrologic conditions was presented at the District’s Governing Board meeting Tuesday. Highlights include:

Rainfall

• Districtwide, October rainfall averaged 1.28 inches, which is 2.73 inches below the average for the month.
• Countywide rainfall totals ranged from 0.4 inches in Alachua County to 2.6 inches in Flagler.
• Districtwide, the cumulative rainfall total for the past 12 months is 55.35 inches, which is 4.34 inches above the long-term average.
• The highest 12-month totals are in the Orlando to Daytona region, with Seminole County receiving 71 inches of rain this year and Volusia, Orange and Flagler counties all exceeding 60 inches.

Groundwater 

• Upper Floridan aquifer conditions (groundwater levels) at the end of October were mostly in the high range or normal range across the District.
• Groundwater levels expressed as a single districtwide index are at the 85th percentile districtwide. This means that since 1980, aquifer levels have been higher than they currently are about 15 percent of the time.

Spring flows

• The mean monthly flow at Silver Springs increased to 684 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 442 mgd, which is a 42 cfs increase from September’s mean and remains in the normal range for this time of year.
• The Blue Springs monitoring station in Volusia County was offline due to the hurricane-related high-water levels and data is unavailable for the month of October. However, the station is back online, and an update should be available next month.
• At Rock Springs, the monthly mean flow increased 5 cfs to 67 cfs (43 mgd), which is in the high range for October.
• Mean monthly flow at Wekiwa Springs increased to 72 cfs (47mgd), which is in the high range for the time of year.

To learn more about rainfall totals and other hydrologic data collected, visit www.sjrwmd.com.

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