National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

This page is a product of research from the NWS in Melbourne, Florida on the EL Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its impact on Florida's dry season. This research, conducted since early 1997, was produced in recognition of the fact that climatic fluctuations on regional and global scales have been shown to have a profound impact on Florida's weather from season to season. The importance of seasonal forecasts continue to increase as Florida growing population becomes more sensitive to extreme weather events every year. Due to this sensitivity there is a need to better understand seasonal variability and seasonal forecasting of weather-related hazards.

This page assimilates a variety of information on seasonal forecasts for Florida in an easy-to-use format in order to keep society better informed. The primary purpose is to increase situational awareness by serving as an early warning system for significant dry season climatic variability in Florida and has four main goals: 1) Provide a clearinghouse for official NWS and NOAA seasonal forecasts and outlooks for the Florida region. 2) Provide an easy method to monitor meteorological measurements of the progress of the dry season through links to official NWS products and locally-produced, graphical products. 3) Provide graphical dry season forecasts and localized meteorological interpretation of official forecasts, and 4) Provide educational material to help users such as emergency managers, planners, forecasters and the public to better understand the physical relationships between ENSO and Florida weather and the predictability of these relationships to better aid preparedness and mitigation efforts. Potential users of this and the Florida Dry Season Forecast must read the Disclaimer before proceeding.