February's Rains Keep Area's Drought From Getting Any Worse

Unanticipated rainfall has kept drought conditions from getting any worse, according to water officials.

"We were predicted to be in a La Niña pattern, but we've had normal or above-normal rain in January and February," said Robyn Hanke, a spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Lakeland received 2.87 inches of rain in February, 0.14 inch above normal for the month.

La Niña, the counterpart of El Niño, is a pool of cooler than normal water in the equatorial Pacific that has a global impact on weather patterns. During La Niña years the southeastern U.S. normally receives below-average rainfall. That has not been the case this year.

"It's definitely good news, but we've still got a long way to go to overcome a 20-inch rainfall deficit in the last 24 months," Hanke said.

Lakes, for example, remain far below normal for this time of year.

The canals between most lakes in the Winter Haven Chain are not considered to be "navigable" by Roger Griffiths, the executive director of the Lake Region Lakes Management District.

But because of rainfall, the lakes are no longer on track to break the record low of 127.5 feet above sea level, which was set in June 2001.

The chain is now more than a foot higher than the all-time low. It only dropped about an inch in February.

"It would go down, then come back up," Griffiths said.

Hanke said levels in the Floridan aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for much of Florida, are in the low end of the normal range for this time of year.

Florida Division of Forestry spokeswoman Chris Kintner is also optimistic.

In December, as the drought index neared the 600 mark, forestry officials predicted severe fire problems this year. So far that hasn't happened, thanks largely to the timing of the rainfall. The index stood at 443 for Polk County on Saturday.

The drought index ranges from a soggy zero to a bone-dry 800. Firefighters expect some problems any time the index is above 400.

Kintner said Polk County received as much as an inch of rain in advance of last week's cold front. However, none of that rain was recorded at the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest near Frostproof. Kintner said Southeast Polk remains unusually dry.

But the timing of the rain has been just enough to prevent serious wildfire problems.

"We've been very lucky," she said. "It's been just enough to kind of hold it off."

February's rainfall came no place close to setting any records.

The driest February ever was in 1989, when rainfall totaled 0.14 inches. The wettest was in 1983, with 9.6 inches recorded in Lakeland.

[ Bill Bair can be reached at bill.bair@theledger.com or 863-676-7118. ]