Florida’s extreme drought improves dramatically in one week

Drought conditions across Florida improved considerably over the past week, with several areas seeing reduced drought severity, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor update released Thursday. A comparison of the Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 drought maps shows a noticeable decrease in severe and extreme drought conditions, particularly across west-central Florida and portions of north-central Florida. While dry conditions remain widespread across the peninsula, the latest report indicates that some of the hardest-hit areas are beginning to recover. Severe and extreme drought areas shrink One of the most significant changes occurred across west-central Florida, including portions of the Tampa Bay region and nearby inland communities. On Oct. 6, several areas were experiencing severe drought, with isolated pockets of extreme drought near the Gulf Coast and farther inland. By Oct. 13, the extreme drought areas had disappeared from the map, while severe drought coverage had also decreased sign