During the first four months of 2022, Southwest Florida began running drier than usual. However, after the rainy season and hurricane season began, our pattern changed very quickly. Mainly due to impacts from Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Nicole and Potential Tropical Cyclone One, 2022 was the 10th wettest year for Fort Myers since records began in 1902.
An average year comes out to 57.41 inches in southwest Florida. In 2022, Fort Myers ended up with 70.17 inches. The wettest year on record, 1947, accumulated over 80 inches of rain!
As we transition into the new year, southwest Florida still remains drought-free. While this is great news, that isn’t the case for most of the country. Roughly three-fourths of the U.S. population is experiencing drought leading to the largest area of drought since 2000.
Drought can not only be devastating to public health, but it is also expensive. According to NOAA, when compared to other billion-dollar weather events, drought makes up nearly 14 percent of the costs from 1990-2020. This is more than flooding, freezes, wildfires or winter storms.
So, what can we expect for 2023? Due to the influence of the La Nina climate pattern this winter, we expect drier-than-usual conditions this dry season. Drought development seems likely at some point heading into spring.
Count on NBC2 to keep you informed.
The post Rainfall Recap: 2022 was far wetter than usual for Southwest Florida appeared first on NBC2 News.
