Much of the Southeast has been under the influence of a large dome of high pressure that has brought very hot and dry weather to most of the region. This has resulted in increases in abnormally dry (D0) and moderate drought (D1) in most of the region. A large area of moderate drought has been introduced to southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Since this weather pattern appears to be likely to continue for most of the next week, we can expect to see drought conditions continue and potentially expand. The exception is in Florida, where there is a chance that a tropical storm could bring some rain into the peninsula before the cutoff period for the DM on Tuesday. It looks like if the storm develops, it is likely to move pretty quickly so won’t drop huge amounts of rain. But the potential storm is still over the Pacific Ocean so until it crosses Central America and forms a center in the Caribbean, we do not know how big it will be and exactly where it will go. Just something to start watching if you are in Florida or along the northeast Gulf Coast.
