The storm dissecting the peninsula this week brought moisture, translating to heavy rainfall. The heaviest amount was recorded over the Florida Keys, and the second highest was over parts of Central Florida.
The rain started early across the southern fringe of North Florida and Central Florida. The rain bands continued throughout the day, and the radar quickly filled in across south Florida. Specifically, the keys reported flooding in their streets by early afternoon.
Take a look at some of the flooding that’s been going on in Key West! If you encounter a flooded road, turn around don’t drown!#wx #flwx @NWSKeyWest @MattDevittWX @BrandonOrrWPLG pic.twitter.com/AnxrJmEwzQ
— Florida Storm Chasers (@FLStormChasers_) February 24, 2025
Key West had new rainfall records reported. Key West airport reported 3.41 inches of rain, which is now the second highest February rain day in Key West airport history. At the rain gauge at the NWS Local Weather Office, there were 6.62 inches of rain, while Marathon, a little bit farther north, recorded 1.13 inches of rain.
We had a SOAKER of a day yesterday! Do you have any photos or videos of the flooding you could share with us, please? Any additional info such as approx. location & time would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!#FLwx #FloridaKeys #KeyWest #MarathonFL #KeyLargo #TheSkyOpenedUp pic.twitter.com/HtqcPTzfOX
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) February 25, 2025
It is impressive that the Key West National Weather Service Office recorded such a high amount. It is now the second wettest Wednesday on record for the forecast office. One can imagine the wettest day was recorded on a summer date, and it was! On September 12, 2020, with 11.36 inches of rain.
While Miami-Dade, Broward County, and Palm Beach counties underperformed, a healthy half to 1.5 inches of rain were reported across the tri-county area.
Southwest Florida reported similar amounts, between one and two inches.
Slightly further north, in Fort Pierce, rainfall amounts ranged between two and three inches in isolated spots. Overall, the area stayed between one and two inches.
The rainfall across Central Florida was slightly higher. Parts of Clearwater reported closer to 2.5 inches, as did the southeastern portion of Polk County and the southwestern portion of Osceola County. Orlando officially hit 1.06 inches, while areas further north, like Apopka through Leesburg, ranged between half and three-quarters of an inch.
Across the western part of Central Florida, rainfall totals also remain between 2.5 inches and 3 inches. Some cities in Highlands County, like Sebring, and in Hillsborough County, like Valrico, were closer to 3 inches. Tampa International Airport officially recorded 2.20 inches of rain.
Beneficial rainfall yesterday in Lake Worth Florida measured 0.38 inches with 8 inch standard rain gauge at Adrians Weather Station. FL-PB-117 #FLwx @NWSMiami pic.twitter.com/MP5mgVQT1h
— Adrian Linares (@AdrianLinares28) February 25, 2025
The rain was needed most in parts of western Central Florida. The drought has worsened in the last couple of weeks, so hopefully, this rain will put a small dent in it. The new drought monitor will be released Thursday morning, and we will bring you an update as soon as it’s released.
Is there more rain in the future?
In the short term, not much. We’re still in the drier months of the year across many parts of Florida. The front approaching Florida on Thursday will likely dry out before it reaches the state. Nonetheless, we can expect dry air across the other half of Florida. At least through the beginning of March, we will be dominated by a high-pressure system that will increase moisture across much of the state and warm temperatures. However, long-range models are not Hinton at significant rainfall, which is still needed across the state.
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