Current Weather Outlook

Rip Currents: Breezy onshore winds and lingering elevated surf will maintain a high risk of rip currents along Palm Beach County beaches today, with a moderate risk of rip currents residing along the rest of the East Coast and Panhandle. A low risk persists for Northwest Florida and West Florida beaches. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.

 

Marine Hazards: Seas will continue subsiding throughout the day today after a prolonged period of persistent easterly onshore winds and elevated surf. Waves of 2-3’ are expected for most East Coast beaches today, with a few waves upwards of 4’ possible in the surf zone along Treasure Coast beaches. Waves of 1’ are expected for all beaches along the Florida Gulf Coast.

 

Red Tide was not observed statewide over the past week (valid 3/20/26).

 

Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding today.

 

Fire Weather: Only a few isolated showers are expected across interior Central and South Florida today, triggered by the afternoon sea breeze boundary (15-20% chance of rain). Activity will be mostly light and brief in nature, though an isolated lightning strike cannot be ruled out. Relative humidity values will remain well above critical thresholds statewide; however, the combination of persistent drought and extremely dry soils/vegetation will maintain an overall low wildfire threat statewide today. Outside of thunderstorm activity, winds generally out of the east to east-northeast between 5-10 mph can be expected with wind gusts reaching 15-20 mph at times along the I-95 corridor. Areas of patchy to locally dense fog can be expected again tonight across Florida, with the greatest chance for periods of reduced visibilities residing across interior Central and South Florida; a further reduction in visibility can be expected where fog develops near any ongoing wildfires or burns. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 64 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 4,039 acres.

 

Drought (3/19/26): Very little changes were made to this week’s Drought Monitor update, even despite much of the Sunshine State seeing beneficial wetting rains earlier in the period. As previously mentioned, the rainfall associated with the potent springtime cold front helped Florida locations in the near-term, as observed in improved KBDI values; however, observed rainfall totals were still not enough to alleviate long-term drought and dry soils/vegetation. Widespread severe (level 2 of 4) to extreme drought (level 3 of 4) continues nearly statewide, with the largest change occurring along the northern reaches of the Suwannee River. Exceptional (level 4 of 4) drought has been introduced over eastern Madison, Northern Gilchrist, western Suwannee, and Hamilton counties; portions of the Florida-Georgia state line saw  worsening soil moisture and precipitation deficits and several streamflow gauges moved into record-low territory for mid-March. Very heavy rain fell in parts of Miami-Dade County, resulting in some improvements to drought conditions, though the benefit of the heavy rain was likely limited given runoff and very low water levels in the Everglades.

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 468 (+3) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 26 Florida counties that have an average KBDI above 500 (drought/increased fire danger).   

Flash Flooding: There is no organized risk for flash flooding across Florida today. A few isolated showers throughout interior Central and South Florida this afternoon may bring a locally heavy downpour or two capable of producing a quick 1-2” of rainfall. However, most activity will be light and brief in nature.

 

Riverine Flooding: There are no riverine concerns across Florida. For more information, visit the River Forecast Center.

 

Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 11.97 feet, which is within the operational band and is 2.37 feet below normal for this time of year.