JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Northeast Florida and South Georgia are experiencing extreme drought and elevated fire danger, with mostly dry and warm weather forecast for the Jacksonville area this weekend.
Our Exact Track 4D radar and the drought monitor both show we’re stuck in either an “extreme” or “exceptional” category, which is as high as it gets.
It’s no secret that we need rain—badly. So far, we’re just not climbing out of this dry spell, and there’s a pretty significant deficit hanging over us.
While we could use a good soaking, I know a lot of you are grateful it’s staying dry for your weekend plans.
Weekend weather outlook
Let’s talk temps. This morning, Jacksonville started out at 63 degrees, and we’re expecting to warm up nicely, hitting a high around 89 degrees by 3 p.m. under partly cloudy skies.
Tonight, it should dip to 61 degrees with some clouds sticking around.
Going into the weekend, things get really comfortable—you can look forward to highs of 71 degrees Saturday and 73 degrees Sunday, which is actually a bit below our average for this time of year.
That means you’ll get some great sunshine and none of the rain that we really need.
Looking ahead, these dry, warm conditions are likely to stick with us into next week.
The rain chances are pretty much obsolete, sitting around 10% or less most days.
Fire danger remains very high
One thing I want to keep front and center—the fire risk is very real.
With this ongoing drought, today’s low wind (lots of spots are calm or under 10 mph) helps a little, but it still won’t take much to spark trouble.
The Exact Track 4D radar has even picked up some smoke from ongoing fires and hot spots across the area.
That dry brush is basically fuel right now, so please be mindful if you’re spending time outdoors.
Share your photos!
If you’re out enjoying the clear skies this weekend, I’d love to see your sunset or event snaps! Upload them anytime at SnapJAX, and you might just see your view featured on The Weather Authority.