Drought worsening and fire dangers up<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Let\u2019s get straight to what matters most: Jacksonville and northeast Florida are facing severe to even extreme drought right now. I\u2019ve been seeing this reflected on our drought monitor, and I want everyone to be as careful as possible.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve probably noticed fire warnings lately\u2014in fact, we\u2019ve already seen quite a few brush fires pop up this season. The dry spell is sticking around, and even though winds are pretty calm for now, it\u2019s amazing how quickly even the lightest breeze (5 to 10 mph) can spread an ember.<\/p>\n
Please don\u2019t light up or toss cigarettes on the ground. I can\u2019t say it enough: safety first, especially until we finally get some needed rain.<\/p>\n
Temps climbing with rain on the way<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the good news if you\u2019ve been craving a warmer stretch. We\u2019re heading into a mild pattern\u2014highs expected around 70 today, and we\u2019ll push all the way up to 77 on Tuesday, which likely will be the warmest day this week.<\/p>\n
The lows are coming in above average as well. If, like me, you\u2019re absolutely done with mornings in the 40s, you\u2019ll be glad to see those numbers sliding up through the week.<\/p>\n
Our Exact Track 4D radar is looking pretty quiet in the rain department, though. I really wish the rain would hurry up to dampen out this fire risk, but it\u2019s forecast to hold off\u2014likely until around Friday or Saturday, when we could finally get some moisture back and a break from this dry air.<\/p>\n
So, for now: warm, dry, and a bit of cloud cover sticking around.<\/p>\n
Did you notice that smell?<\/p>\n
I have to talk about something you might have experienced this morning\u2014a really strange, not-so-great smell outside. Around the station, folks have been mentioning it to me, and I checked for myself. Think \u201cleft out milk\u201d or \u201ccompost,\u201d and you\u2019ll get the idea. We\u2019re not sure about the source right now, but I know I\u2019m not the only one who noticed it.<\/p>\n