Dry season around the corner, but will it be too late for Lake O?
Posted: 7:00 a.m. Friday, October 13, 2017
South Florida’s dry season can’t come soon enough for beleaguered Lake Okeechobee, which maintained its 17.2-foot bloat Thursday while water managers debated multi-million-dollar efforts to drain future overflows.
The average dry season start date falls between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, but whether Mother Nature will follow her own climatology this year is questionable, especially considering a hearty hurricane season that might simmer into early November.
We’re releasing as much as we can without creating downstream flooding impacts,” said Corps spokesman John Campbell. “We recognize additional precipitation could result in the lake resuming its rise, which is why we continue to release water so we can retain as much storage as possible.”
Campbell said Thursday the lake had been stable at 17.2 feet for 72 hours.
The forecast calls for most of the showers to be along the southeast coast. While rain chances stay at 50 percent through the weekend, a deluge is not expected.
“Toward the end of next week, the models do hint at some dry air filtering in from the north,” Baxter said. “But we’re stuck with deeper moisture through the weekend.”
the lake crested at 17.2 feet about 10days ago and is now at 16.81, however a tropical depression will combine with a front and dump 2-5 inches over the area today....
meanwhile
White House Says It Will Expedite Funding For Lake O Dike Repairs
http://wlrn.org/post/white-house-says-it-will-expedite-funding-lake-o-dike-repairs