It was our sixth of the water year (i.e. since May 2020) …
And first of the calendar year.
What is a Big Rain Day (BRD)?
It’s any day when south Florida averages an inch or more of rain across the entire peninsula.
On average, south Florida gets about 5 BRDs per year. Flood years we typically get more (i.e. 10 in 2005, the year of Wilma) and drought years get less (i.e. 2 in the 2011, the year of the Jarhead Wildfire).
What months do BRDs strike most?
Almost 20 percent of them occur in June. But the take-home lesson from the table below is that practically every month has at least a 1 in 30 chance of getting a BRD. And that’s all it takes. A single day of rain can change the outlook for the whole month, or longer.
Sunday’s BRD couldn’t have been more well timed. Just as the swamp was getting ready to dive into deep drought, the front of rain dropped much needed water in the low-lying spots (i.e. domes, strands and marshes).
The swamp may bottom out yet, but for the moment deep drought drought has been delayed.
