TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Just last week, all eyes were on the Gulf watching what would later become Tropical Storm Cindy. Even though this storm tracked towards the Louisiana coast, some of the outer rain bands moved over much of our region.
This extra rain, in addition to the very wet weather from earlier in the month, has led to decreased drought conditions throughout parts of north Florida and south Georgia.
As of Friday morning, Tallahassee received over eleven inches of rain for the entire month of June. That's about six inches more than we see in a typical June. Most of the rain actually fell within the first week of June, but Tropical Storm Cindy certainly gave us a nice soaking as well.
But what does that all mean for the drought conditions in our area? Well, Florida's drought has been completely eliminated for the time being. Portions of south Georgia are still experiencing drier soil conditions. A full look at the current drought monitor can be found here.
It is important to note that when looking at the drought maps, the yellow color does not indicate a drought. Instead, those are areas that are recovering, but not quite back to normal.
Of course, more rain means vegetation will begin to "green-up," and farmers don't have to worry so much about watering their crops.
"It's great for the farmers because it means they don't have to run their pumps and irrigate their crops nearly as much, so that's a big money saver for them," says Brett Cyphers, the Executive Director, Northwest Florida Water Management District. "From our perspective, we own 220-thousand acres of land throughout northwest Florida. When it rains and we're out of a drought, we can go out and manage those lands properly."
June is just the beginning of the southeast's "Rainy Season." According to Cyphers, our rainiest months typically span from June to September, coinciding with hurricane season and the afternoon summer showers.
It is impossible to tell just how much wet weather we could get for the rest of our rainy season, but if June is any indication, things could be looking up.
For those in Georgia affected by the drought that begin last November, the Small Business Administration is offering loan assistance for the listed counties: Baker, Ben Hill, Bleckley, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Columbia, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Emanuel, Houston, Irwin, Jefferson, Johnston, Laurens, Lee, Lincoln, Macon, Marion, McDuffie, Miller, Mitchell, Muscogee, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Richmond, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell, Tift, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Warren, Webster, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson and Worth in Georgia.
These loans are available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster.
You can apply online for this assistance at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
The deadline to apply is June 24, 2017.
