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Winter 20-21 Season: Warmer and much drier than normal

Melbourne seeing its 10th driest winter on record

(WPLG)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Strong La Nina conditions persisted for another season across the globe which means a warmer and drier than normal Winter was expected. Although Central Florida fell further into a deficit with rainfall during the winter season, temperatures ran much closer to normal.

Temperatures Recap:

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Temperatures in December were in sharp contrast to the well above normal warmth last year. Several cold fronts were able to move through the areas, producing extended periods of cooler weather.

During January, temperatures fluctuated cooler and warmer than normal periods basically balancing each other out.

By February, warmer stretches became the norm as fronts began stalling north of the area.

This see-saw in temperatures over the past three months, in turn, meant a very typical winter season for Central Floridians.

Winter 2020 Temp Recap
  • Daytona Beach: 60.1° (+0.6° above normal)
  • Leesburg: 61.1° (+0.8° above normal)
  • Sanford: 62.3° (+0.9° above normal)
  • Orlando: 62.1° (+0.2° above normal)
  • Melbourne: 63.5° (+1.5° above normal)

Rainfall Recap:

When it comes to rain during the winter, thanks to some rain along cold fronts, we were able to rack up about three to five inches of rainfall.

The drier than usual weather even ranked January as one of the driest on record in Melbourne. Despite the increase in rainfall toward the end of the season, the drier than normal conditions for December and January overshadowed the wetter pattern into February.

Winter 2020 Rain Recap
  • Daytona Beach: 4.70″ (-3.45″ below normal)
  • Leesburg: 5.20″ (-2.94″ below normal)
  • Sanford: 4.31″ (-3.56″ below normal)
  • Orlando: 3.91″ (-3.40″ below normal)
  • Melbourne: 3.37″ (-4.00″ below normal) *10th driest winter on record
  • Clermont: 3.61″ (-4.80″) *6th driest winter on record