Drought

NOAA, the USDA, and the National Drought Mitigation Center mentioned the Fort Myers region twice. Once to extend the current year-long drought in greater Lee County and to increase from severe to extreme.

On the same week that federal climate forecasters said the drought in the greater Fort Myers area had worsened and will not be going away soon, Lee officials issued guidelines for county residents to weather the weather until it returns to normal.

2025 was the driest year in over a decade for the Sunshine State. The lack of perception has been felt hard in Southwest Florida, where current extreme drought conditions are the worst since 2001.

The slender relatives of hawks and eagles have had a bad-news, good-news, bad-news existence since 1967, when the bird landed on the Endangered Species List after many decades of draining, ditching, and channel-digging in the Everglades

Residents of unincorporated Lee County are reminded that beginning Feb. 1, a one-day-a-week watering schedule will be in place through the end of May. Following schedule is critical for conserving water and protecting the county’s water resource

A drought unlike any the Sunshine State has seen for more than 20 years has been drying out portions of the state — especially Southwest Florida

As of May 2025, Southwest Florida experienced the worst drought in 24 years; It's still bad.

In November alone, more than 1.7 million people living in counties along or near Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast were plunged back into a moderate drought. And drought often precedes wildfires.

Southwest Florida’s water managers have ordered the residents in 16 counties from Lee to Levy — along or near Florida’s Gulf Coast — to cut back on water use. The "Phase 1 water shortage restrictions” sound dire but leave in place local lawn-watering schedules as abundant as twice a week and appear to be more about priming residents for more severe weather conditions in 2026.

Sarasota County declared a burn ban for unincorporated parts of the county and the City of Sarasota more than a month ago. Manatee County and North Port activated burn bans last week. Southwest Florida’s drought has returned