Rainy Monday not nice, but needed

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – "Rainy days and Mondays" is not only a good song by the Carpenters, it's also Monday's forecast. But before casting stones at the weatherman, please understand that the rain is a very welcome treat considering the ever-worsening drought across our area.

Looking at the radar-estimated rainfall totals since Saturday night, most of the area has received less than a half inch of rain. Only a very, very select few have seen appreciable amounts of more than half an inch. These areas have been limited to portions of Ware, Pierce and Lowndes counties, as well as areas well west of Gainesville.

Recommended Videos



As for the immediate region, clearly, we got rain shadowed again.

Monday's weather is going to continue to be slick at least through the early afternoon as an upper-level disturbance traverses the area. The rainfall will be light to moderate, some isolated spots with heavy rain, with rainfall totals of generally less than half an inch.

As we head into the evening hours, look for the rains to taper off and the fog to set in for Tuesday's commute. Temperatures should rebound after a chilly Sunday into the low 70s across the River City.

We're going to need far more rain as we head into the Spring to keep the wildfires at bay. Currently, Jacksonville International Airport (where the official weather records are kept) is well below normal for this time of year already.

According to the National Weather Service, since Jan. 1, Jacksonville is currently running a deficit of 5.22 inches, not counting Monday's rainfall. So far, JIA has only recorded 1.03 inches of rainfall. Pathetic!

If we go back one month and start counting up from December, Jacksonville is down 6.18 inches. This is not good news as we head into northeast Florida's driest months -- March, April and May -- where average rainfall drops off to just a few tenths of an inch per month.