I had intended to walk to the staff gauge on the north side of the road to check the water level and take some pictures. When I visited in October, I stopped at the wayside between the two bridges that span Taylor Slough on Main Park Road. Tropical Storm Eta dumped up to 16 inches of rain on parts of South Florida and made for a very wet start to the dry season. True to form, 2020 delivered a wallop of a late-season storm. This is especially true if there is a late-season tropical storm. 1, weather is variable, and precipitation can continue to fall after that date. Remarkably, so much rain fell during the last two months of the wet season that the total rainfall for the 2020 wet season ended up being average compared to other wet seasons.Īlthough on paper the dry season starts Nov. The District covers the area from the Kissimmee River to Florida Bay and the Florida Keys.īefore September 2020, total rainfall for the wet season was less than average. When the solid line rises above the dashed line, the District received more rainfall than average and vice-versa. Monthly rainfall in the South Florida Water Management District (District) from 4/20 to 12/20. South Florida receives about 70% of its annual rainfall during the six-month wet season, which spans from May to October. South Floridians should be used to a monsoon-type rainfall pattern. That was in October, the very beginning of our abnormally wet fall season. It was so deep on a few access roads and on the Shark Valley Loop Road that the park temporarily closed those areas to keep people and the park’s resources safe. The first thing I noticed when approaching the entrance-that any regular to the park would have noticed-was the standing water on either side of the road, with water even flowing over the road in some places. So, I packed up my mommy-wagon one bright October day and headed out to the park. Having worked in and pondered the hydrology of Everglades National Park for a decade, I wanted to see those historic water levels firsthand. As a result, water levels in the park rose to be among some of the highest on record. Water levels were high even before the passing of Tropical Storm Eta in mid-November, which brought more rain and caused devastating flooding in some South Florida communities.įor Everglades National Park, rainfall and restoration-related water management changes caused the trickle of water it had been receiving prior to September to quickly become a torrent. If you live in South Florida, you are probably aware that we had a very wet fall. By Michelle Collier, Science Communications Liaison, Everglades National Park Shark Valley reopened recently after water levels decreased. Shark Valley Loop Road had to be closed because of the extremely high water levels.
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