ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite Florida’s reputation for daily summer thunderstorms, much of Central Florida is experiencing one of its driest years on record, leaving lake levels well below normal and creating problems for homeowners and boaters.

From Lake Eola to the Conway Chain of Lakes, the lack of rainfall has exposed more shoreline, encouraged vegetation growth and made navigating some waterways more difficult.

Orlando is currently running 15.29 inches below its average rainfall for this point in the year, making 2026 the driest year on record so far.

Ken Koo, who has lived on a Central Florida lake since the 1980s, said the difference is impossible to miss.

“I feel like the water levels overall are down a lot lower than normal. And I think the deceptive thing is when they get down low, the vegetation tends to grow out,” Koo said.

Edgewood resident Erik Skolnik has lived along the Conway Chain since 2017 and said this summer has been unlike anything he’s seen.

“It’s the driest it’s ever been since we’ve been here,” Skolnik said.

The dropping water levels have exposed Skolnik’s rocks against the seawall and left his boat lift nearly resting on the bottom.

To keep using his boat, he said he had no choice but to dredge around the lift.

“Basically, taken a bunch of dirt and mud out so we could lower the boat, the cradle, so we could get out on a lake,” Skolnik said.

Spectrum News meteorologist Zach Covey said the numbers tell the story.

“So far, year to date, this is the driest year on record,” Covey said. “We are sitting 15 inches below average year to date.”

According to the Orlando area hydrology monitoring system, many lakes across Central Florida are at their lowest levels of the year.

Cherry Lake near Groveland, west of Lake John, is currently measured at 93.4 feet, the lowest level recorded since monitoring began there in 2012.

Despite the dry conditions, Covey said there is still plenty of time for the region to recover before the rainy season ends.

“We still have a good chunk of the rainy season. Still have hurricane season to go. It only takes one system to change that value,” Covey said.

With rain in the forecast this weekend, many lakeside residents are hoping the much-needed rainfall will begin restoring water levels across Central Florida.