{"id":622081,"date":"2026-05-04T01:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T01:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/622081\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T01:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T01:57:08","slug":"what-floridas-extreme-drought-means-for-the-upcoming-hurricane-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/622081\/","title":{"rendered":"What Florida’s extreme drought means for the upcoming hurricane season"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared on PolitiFact<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades, causing\u00a0widespread wildfires<\/a>\u00a0and evacuation orders in large swaths of the state.<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently offered a possible silver lining.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Projects bringing water to drought-ridden land could end with USAID’s dismantling<\/a><\/p>\n

“They do say, that when you have droughts, that the hurricane seasons tend to be less active,”\u00a0DeSantis said<\/a>\u00a0at an April 22 event in Jacksonville. “I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t know if that’s an old wives’ tale. I don’t know if there’s data to back it up, but people do say that, and so I guess we shall see what that means for this season coming up.”<\/p>\n

Over half of Florida is in an “extreme drought,” as classified by\u00a0the U.S. Drought Monitor<\/a>, and about 22% of the state is in an “exceptional drought,” the system’s highest level.<\/p>\n

Meteorologists and climate experts told PolitiFact that droughts do not directly affect hurricane season, but people sometimes conflate the two as they can occur at the same time under certain conditions.<\/p>\n

“There actually isn’t any basis for that,” Andy Hazleton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies, said. “Sometimes, drought can be associated with La Ni\u00f1a winters, which we just had, and La Ni\u00f1a tends to favor more hurricanes. We’re heading into an El Ni\u00f1o, which will likely mean fewer hurricanes but a wetter winter in Florida.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Drought threatens myrrh tree key to luxury perfumes and African incomes<\/a><\/p>\n

La Ni\u00f1a is a climate pattern characterized by unusually cold ocean surface temperatures with less wind shear, while El Ni\u00f1o refers to a pattern of unusually warm ocean temperatures with higher wind shear.<\/p>\n

Hurricane seasons are driven primarily by the Atlantic basin’s sea surface temperatures and wind shear, Hazleton said. (The basin includes the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.) Warm waters act as a fuel source, providing tropical systems with heat energy, and low wind shear acts as a stabilizer, allowing storms to build without being torn apart.<\/p>\n

But drought doesn’t always lead to fewer hurricanes,\u00a0experts said<\/a>. Sometimes La Ni\u00f1a causes drought in the winter then lingers to create an active hurricane season because it keeps high wind shear away.<\/p>\n

The\u00a01998 hurricane season<\/a>\u00a0is one example of drought and fewer hurricanes not aligning, meteorologists said.<\/p>\n

That year, Florida, Texas and Louisiana had\u00a0record-low rainfall<\/a>\u00a0and record-high temperatures, leading to wildfires. The Atlantic hurricane season was\u00a0particularly active<\/a>, producing 14 named storms, including 10 hurricanes. Experts\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0the drought was initially fueled by a strong El Ni\u00f1o, but as the hurricane season progressed, the transition to La Ni\u00f1a reduced wind shear, allowing for more hurricane activity.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: La Nina is back, but it’s weak and may be brief<\/a><\/p>\n

For the coming hurricane season that begins June 1, Florida is heading into a strong El Ni\u00f1o weather pattern, which could mean a quieter season.<\/p>\n

“Big El Ni\u00f1o’s make a big difference!” Jeff Berardelli, WFLA Tampa Bay’s chief meteorologist and climate specialist\u00a0wrote April 24 on X<\/a>, explaining that weaker El Ninos have led to major hurricanes. “This #hurricane season may defy the odds, but odds are for a ‘relatively’ quieter season. Nevertheless, we always say, ‘it only takes one,’ so be prepared!”<\/p>\n

Berardelli said<\/a>\u00a0the strongest El Ni\u00f1o episodes dating back to 1972 have correlated with a substantial decrease in hurricane activity \u2014 about 40% fewer storms than average.<\/p>\n

There’s more of a connection between droughts and hurricanes when dry weather occurs in Africa, Hazleton said, because it inhibits thunderstorm clusters that move off the country’s coast from forming into Atlantic tropical cyclones. “That can have an impact on the hurricane seasons,” he said, “but it’s not an easy one-to-one connection.”<\/p>\n

A persistent drought could bring more problems if a hurricane makes landfall.<\/p>\n

Dry conditions can weaken tree roots, making them more prone to falling or breaking in strong winds. Dry soil makes water absorption difficult, which can lead to erosion and a higher risk of flooding.<\/p>\n

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