Wildfire Risk High As Florida's Rainy Season Gets Off To Slow Start

By Dave Warren, CBS Miami

May 23, 2021

The only way to know that we are almost a week into rainy season is the fact that there is a specific start and end date. May 15 marks the start of the season, but since then only 0.01 inches of rain has been recorded in Miami with Fort Lauderdale picking up 0.08 inches. Both remain a few inches below normal for the year compared to the average.

It was 2018 when the National Weather Service picked an average start date declaring the start and end of the rainy season, May 15-October 15. Prior to that, the National Weather Service in Miami would specify the start and end date of the season, but it was subjective and often announced days later. An attempt to use a more scientific method to determine the start and end of the season such as dewpoint thresholds and instability but that led to more problems.

“They used to start rainy season once the dew points remained above 70. But that was problematic because sometimes even with a 70-degree dew point, it doesn’t rain,” explained CBS4 Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer.

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