Florida on Fire

Wildfires are breaking out all over Florida. These wildfires are a result of the dry weather conditions of La Nina. Since January 1 there have been 2,641 wildfires. Today there are 191 active fires reported covering 191,864 acres. A Web site that one can go to in order to see a Daily Wildfire report is http://www.fl-dof.com/wildfire2007/daily_report.html. This site will give the user an idea of where the fire is, how large it is and what percent of it is contained

Some of Phase III water restrictions

For homes and businesses with less than five acres

-For homes and addresses ending in odd numbers watering is permitted on Saturdays from 4 a.m. – 8 a.m.
-For homes and addresses ending in even numbers watering is permitted on Sundays from 4 a.m. – 8 a.m.
-New landscaping, planted for less than 30 days, may be watered Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 2 a.m. – 8 a.m.


For homes and businesses with more than five acres

-For homes and addresses ending with odd numbers watering is permitted on Saturdays from 12:01 a.m. - 8 a.m.
-For homes and addresses ending with even numbers watering is permitted on Sundays from 12:01 a.m. - 8 a.m.
-New landscaping, planted less than 30 days, may be watered Monday, Wednesday or Saturday from 12:01 a.m. - 8 a.m.

For car, boat and equipment washing
· Washing of cars, boats and other equipment is permitted 4 a.m. 8a.m. and 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on the landscape watering days. Washing must be done on or must drain to, a non-paved surface that permits water to soak into the ground. It must be done using a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle and/or low-volume pressure cleaner.
· Rinsing and flushing of boats after saltwater use is allowed once a day for up to 15 minutes per boat immediately after use.

Less Water, Good Bye Muck

Muck had been stirred up in Lake Okeechobee due to the hurricanes that hit in 2004 and 2005. This muck keeps sunlight from the plants and lowered the clarity of the lake. Water management officials are going to take about three months to dredge out 500,000 cubic yards of muck from the 800 acres of lake bed. By de-mucking the lake officials expect to promote the re-growth of submerged aquatic vegetation and shoreline marshes. The removal is also expected to improve the fish habitat by exposing sandy areas that fish need to lay their eggs.

Water supply is runnning low

South Florida is currently experiencing a drought. This drought has affected the lives of South Floridians. Some people who have well-water as their main source of water to their house are not getting water to their house any more due to their well drying up. For those who get their water from the lake, Lake Okeechobee is at about 9.2 feet, which is less than a foot shy of the record low, 8.97 feet, in May 2001.

El Nino and La Nina

El Nino and La Nina have an affect on the weather in South Florida. La Nina is defined as cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that impact global weather patterns. La Nina effects the south east because it sends the storms in the Pacific north. With these storms going north there is less rain going to the Southeast part of the United States. With these storms staying north the weather in Florida is warmer and drier. The drier conditions in Florida has lead to a drought.

South Florida Weather

South Florida weather is always changing, making it hard to make plans for a day out doors. If it is sunny one day it could very well be rainy and stormy the next. Sometimes these extremes occur in the same day. One way to help plan out your days is to look up a forecast. One fast and convenient way of looking up a forecast is by visiting a website such as http://www.intellicast.com/. This site will give you a 10 day forecast and current information such as current temperature, wind speed and wind direction. Once you get to the main page just put your city’s name in the search bar on the center of the page and it will give you the weather forecast.