Dear Florida Climate Center friends, |
After a long break from our newsletters as we underwent staff changes and readjusted to a new COVID-19 reality, we are pleased to announce that our newsletters are back! This first Fall 2020 edition of our new quarterly newsletter features the August, September, and October monthly climate summaries, as well as updates on what we've been up to over the past few months. If you have any questions, please send us an e-mail at climate@coaps.fsu.edu.
Thanks,
The Staff of the Florida Climate Center
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Monthly Climate Summaries for Florida |
The Florida Climate Center's August, September, and October 2020 Climate Summaries for Florida are now available. These summaries provide an analysis of temperature and precipitation patterns during the months of August, September, and October across the state, along with data on hazardous weather, drought, the impacts of weather, and any records tied or broken.
Between August and October, average temperatures were generally near or above normal across Florida. In August, departures from normal ranged from +0.4 ̊F in Jacksonville to +2.7 ̊F in Key West. Some stations including Sarasota observed their warmest August on record. In September, temperatures were above normal for much of the state. Stuart observed its warmest September on record and Plant City tied for its warmest September on record. Key West observed its second warmest September and Sarasota had its third warmest September on record. Many areas observed above-average minimum temperatures in September as well, with record high average minimum temperatures set in Miami, Perrine, and Plant City. Above-average temperatures continued through the month of October. Departures from normal ranged from +1.4 ̊F in Key West to +5.4 ̊F in Tampa. Tampa had its warmest October on record, and Orlando observed its second warmest October on record. Many daily record high maximum temperatures were set during the month.
The figures below are graphical depictions of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (in inches) for August (top), September (middle), and October (bottom) (courtesy of the National Weather Service). Rainfall was variable across the state during this period and influenced by several tropical systems that made landfall or impacted Florida, particularly Hurricane Sally in mid-September.
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During August, the Climate Prediction Center issued a La Niña Advisory, as La Niña conditions emerged with sea surface temperatures below average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. These conditions continued through October and are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere 2020-21 winter (more than 90% chance) and a strong chance (~60%) it will continue into the spring (February - April). La Niña winters tend to favor warm and dry conditions in the southern tier of the United States.
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Florida Climate Center collaborating with UF/IFAS to Improve Drought Forecasts |
Droughts and floods are recurring disasters in Florida that can have widespread and catastrophic impacts to diverse sectors, particularly agriculture. The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science and the Florida Climate Center are collaborating on a new project to improve assessments and forecasts of water issues across Florida and the Southeast U.S. The project will develop new soil moisture technologies and applications to improve assessments and projections of water issues, such as flash droughts, floods, and ecosystem health. This work is part of a larger effort to expand the soil moisture monitoring network across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. This expanded network will improve agricultural models and detection of drought stress indices, as well as provide a high resolution, high quality dataset for public distribution.
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Florida Climate Center in the News |
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Southeast Climate Monthly Webinar Series
David Zierden will be guest presenting over the next couple of months in this webinar series hosted by the Southeast Regional Climate Center in partnership with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the NOAA National Weather Service. These webinars are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 10am ET. Mark your calendars for the next one on Tuesday, December 8th. Register here.
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Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Drought and Water Monthly Webinars
These webinars provide updated information on the climate, water, and drought status of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, with David Zierden providing climate updates. These webinars are sponsored by the Auburn University Water Resources Center and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). The next briefing will be Tuesday, November 24th at 1pm ET. Register here.
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The Florida Climate Center is part of a three-tiered system of national, regional, and state climate offices, including NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI - in Asheville, North Carolina) and the Southeast Regional Climate Center (in Chapel Hill, North Carolina). The Florida State Climatologist and staff at the Florida Climate Center provide the following information and services to the people of Florida:
Climate Data
Historical weather observations for weather stations throughout the state of Florida. We are able to provide data for most stations from 1948-present.
Climate Information
Long-term historical averages for various stations, climate divisions, and the entire state.
Extreme Event Records
Information and analyses on extreme events such as freezes, droughts, floods and hurricanes.
Special Analysis
With their vast knowledge of El Niño, La Niña and climate variability, the State Climatologist and staff can offer expert insight into Florida's climate trends.
Outreach
Activities, presentations, and workshops that inform and educate the people of Florida about current and emerging climate issues. We also coordinate volunteers for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).
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