Recent rains not enough to ease drought as fire threat climbs

Weather Forecast: April 1, 2020

FOX 35 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Richards gives you the latest on the weather in Central Florida.

Orlando, Fl - The first 30 days of March only produced 0.02" of rainfall in Central Florida.  Tuesday's rainfall of .25" was a nice bonus, but not enough.

Bone-dry air moved in on Wednesday and this will continue to dry us out even more.  The fire threat across Central Florida is now climbing into the "high" range.

Fires are currently burning across Orange, Sumter, Pasco, Marion and Polk counties.  The driest counties are setting up from Orange county and extending south to Lake O. 

The long-range model guidance does not show any substantial rainfall moving into the area.  April and May are usually our driest months with average rainfall less than 3 inches.  Even if we receive normal rainfall we should still find the frequency of fires increasing.