(Image: More than 70% of Florida is facing "extreme" or "exceptional" drought conditions. In Georgia, which has also been gripped by drought, that figure is 69%.(Image credit: U.S. Drought Monitor/Brian Fuchs)
Florida is facing its most intense drought in 15 years. Here's how it got so bad and how long it will last.More than 70% of the state is under "extreme" to "exceptional" drought conditions, and other parts of the U.S. Southeast are similarly affected. But why, and what are the impacts?
Sascha Pare, LIVE SCIENCE, April 24, 2026
Florida is experiencing its most intense drought in 15 years, with more than 70% of the Sunshine State facing what the U.S. Drought Monitor calls "extreme" to "exceptional" drought conditions.
Northern Florida is suffering the driest conditions in the state, and recent rainfall has brought almost no relief, according to the latest drought data. Forecasts show no rain and high temperatures over the next week, so the situation will likely get worse before it gets better, experts told Live Science.
"Dry conditions have been building throughout the winter," Esther Mullens, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Florida, told Live Science in an email. "Three months ago, 98% of the state was in unusually dry conditions, however only 4% were in severe to exceptional drought. As of currently, this number has risen to over 71% in severe to exceptional drought."
Why is Florida in a drought?
Florida, along with Georgia and other parts of the U.S. Southeast, currently sits beneath a ridge of high atmospheric pressure that has moved in and out of the region since fall last year but remained stationary since March. This means the air above the Southeast is sinking and compressing, which reduces humidity and prevents cloud formation.
"Rain cannot form in sinking air so it just stays warm and dry," Pam Knox, an agricultural climatologist at the University of Georgia and the director of the Georgia Weather Network, told Live Science in an email.
Clear skies have dominated for weeks over Florida and other parts of the Southeast. But it's not just high pressure that's driving the current drought, because rainfall has been below average for months. Florida was unusually dry for much of last year, and many areas have received less than 50% of their normal rainfall since Sept. 1, 2025, according to the National Weather Service.
"That means they are about 20 to 25 inches [50 to 65 centimeters] below what would be considered average rainfall," Knox said.
Months of dry weather were followed by a La Niña winter, which shifted the jet stream northward. This brought colder, wetter conditions to the northern U.S. and Canada, while the southern U.S. became warmer and drier.
"The combined effects of the lack of tropical storms last year with the La Nina over the winter, which is usually a time of warmer and drier climate than average, have helped lead to this current situation," Knox said.
Why is the current Florida drought so bad?
The current drought in Florida differs from previous bad droughts because it has hit in spring instead of summer. The last time the U.S. Drought Monitor recorded such exceptionally dry conditions in the Sunshine State was June 2011, but it has not been this dry so early in the year since 2000, Knox said.
While the La Niña, low precipitation, and fewer storms this season are attributable to natural variability, global warming and shifts in the water cycle caused by higher temperatures may be contributing to the dryness, Knox said.
The impact of climate change is difficult to disentangle from natural variation without proper attribution studies, Mullens agreed.
How long will the Florida drought last?
Current drought conditions in Florida will probably worsen until the end of April, but they are expected to improve slightly in May as the high-pressure area in the atmosphere moves away from the Southeast.
It's unclear how conditions will evolve through summer, but a lot of moisture will be needed to end the drought. Ideally, a tropical storm or a stationary front should bring enough rain in the coming weeks to quench plants and replenish soil moisture.
A strong El Niño is on the horizon, which could bring wetter weather this summer, Mullens said. But a clear picture of this year's drought will emerge only once it's over, when scientists will be able to more accurately compare its length with droughts that struck Florida in 2000 and 2011.
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