End of Rainy Season and a bet won

Rainy season has officially come to an end. This is what the local office of the National Weather Service is saying:

CONTINENTAL HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES DURING THE PAST WEEK HAS USHERED IN DRIER AND SLIGHTLY MILDER AIR ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA SINCE THE MIDDLE PART OF LAST WEEK.

THIS SUBTLE BUT IMPORTANT CHANGE IN THE WEATHER OVER OUR REGION

INDICATES THAT THE FIVE-MONTH LONG WET SEASON HAS COME TO AN END.

THE 2008 RAINY SEASON BEGAN ON MAY 22 OVER SOUTHEAST FLORIDA, AND ON

MAY 30 OVER INTERIOR AND WESTERN SOUTH FLORIDA, AND ENDED OVER THE

ENTIRE AREA ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14.

THE DURATION OF THE RAINY SEASON WAS 146 DAYS OVER SOUTHEAST FLORIDA AND 138 DAYS OVER INTERIOR AND WESTERN SOUTH FLORIDA. THIS IS SLIGHTLY SHORTER THAN THE NORMAL DURATION OF 153 DAYS.

RAINFALL TOTALS FOR THE 2008 RAINY SEASON AVERAGED AROUND 40 INCHES OVER METRO SOUTHEAST FLORIDA, WHICH IS ABOUT 5 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. HOWEVER, LARGE VARIATIONS IN RAINFALL TOTALS WERE OBSERVED OVER SOUTHEAST FLORIDA. FOR EXAMPLE, FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RECEIVED ALMOST 33 INCHES OF RAIN WHILE THE REDLAND IN SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE COUNTY RECEIVED ALMOST 56 INCHES OF RAIN. THESE LARGE VARIATIONS ARE RELATIVELY COMMON DUE TO THE MOSTLY RANDOM NATURE OF SUMMER RAINFALL PATTERNS.

ONE OF THE MAIN FACTORS IN THE WETTER THAN NORMAL 2008 RAINY SEASON
WAS THE INFLUENCE OF TROPICAL STORM FAY IN LATE AUGUST.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF THE WETTER THAN NORMAL RAINY SEASON
WAS TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THE LEVEL OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE. THE LEVEL
OF THE LAKE ROSE FROM 9.3 FEET IN MID-JUNE TO JUST OVER 15 FEET BY EARLY SEPTEMBER.

AS A RESULT, THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS THAT LINGERED ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA SINCE 2007 CAME TO AN END BY AUGUST.

THE ONSET OF THE DRY SEASON MEANS THAT THE NEAR DAILY RAINFALL PATTERNS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SUMMER MONTHS COME TO AN END, WITH
MOST OF THE RAINFALL DURING THESE DRIER MONTHS COMING BY WAY OF
FRONTAL SYSTEMS WHICH BEGIN TO AFFECT THE AREA ON A FAIRLY REGULAR
BASIS BETWEEN NOW AND APRIL.

*** So this means that Vivian owes Me and Brent one dollar a piece **** It appears we won the running bet ( 2 blogs ago? ).

Local: We are watching an area of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean Sea. Southwesterly winds may draw some of its moisture our way by Thursday and Friday bringing us a better chance for rain.

NHC says that area has less than a 20% of becoming a depression. We should still watch it just in case it does strengthen. Now in October tropical systems can sprout rather rapidly very close to us.