Ike May Increase Rain Chances

September has gotten off to a dry start, but that could be changing.

Hurricane Ike is bypassing peninsular Florida, but will generate easterly winds that will increase the chance of rain for a few days.

The National Weather Service is predicting a 70 percent chance of rain today, dropping down to 60 percent Thursday and 30 percent for Friday and the weekend.

So far this month there has been no rainfall recorded at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The Division of Forestry reports 0.75 inches in Dundee, 0.1 inch at Lake Wales Ridge State Forest and 0.3 in Polk City.

Volunteers for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, a group that monitors precipitation, also report only a smattering of rain around Polk County during the first eight days of the month.