Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Friday, March 20, 2026
...A Sunny and Mostly Dry Day Expected Statewide for the First Day of Spring... Slight Chance of Shower Exists Across Southeast Florida... Elevated Winds with Gusts of 20-30 mph Continue Along the I-95 Corridor Today... Temperatures in the 70s Statewide... Areas of Smoke or Haze Possible Along the I-10 Corridor with Recent Burn Activity...Lows into the 40s and 50s Tonight...Exceptional Drought (level 4 of 4) Introduced for the Northern Suwannee River Valley...Locally Sensitive to Elevated Wildfire Conditions Continue...High Risk of Rip Currents for East Coast Beaches...
Updated at 9:26 AM EDT
Today's Threats:
|
No Threat |
Low Threat |
Medium Threat |
High Threat |
|
Lightning |
Tornado |
Damaging Wind/Hail |
Wildfire |
Freeze (Overnight) |
Flash Flooding |
Fog (Overnight) |
Rip Currents |
| Iso. Southeast FL |
Locally Statewide |
|
Iso. Interior Peninsula
|
East Coast Florida Panhandle & Southwest Florida Nature Coast |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
High pressure will settle over the Southeast U.S. today bringing sunny and dry conditions to much of the state. Elevated northeasterly onshore winds will continue along the I-95 corridor and Southeast Florida today, with wind gusts upwards of 20-30 mph possible. This will bring a slight chance for an isolated shower along the Southeast coastline today (20-30% chance of rain), though any activity is expected to be light and brief in nature. High temperatures will climb into the 70s throughout much of the state, with West-Central and Southwest Florida being the warmest location shielded by the strongest winds.
Critically low relative humidities (15-25%) are expected across North Florida this afternoon which will keep a sensitive to locally elevated wildfire risk in place. A recent uptick in local brush burn and wildfire activity has brought increased smoke across the I-10 corridor, especially throughout the Big Bend where air quality conditions are poor. With light northeasterly winds expected today, areas of smoke and haze will continue across portions of North Florida. Winds will shift out of the south and east tonight, which should help to scour out and blow much of the smoke away from the state.
Low temperatures will remain on the chillier side tonight, dipping into the middle 40s to lower 40s throughout much of interior North and Central Florida. Lows in the middle 50s to lower 60s can be expected along the Panhandle and Big Bend coast and for Peninsula beaches. Fog chances will remain very low tonight; however, isolated instances of fog and low clouds cannot be ruled out across the interior Peninsula. Should fog mix with smoke from any active wildfires, visibilities will be significantly reduced.
Rip Currents: A high risk for rip currents will persist for East Coast beaches today, with a moderate risk expected along the Florida Panhandle and Southwest Florida coastline. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Dangerous beach and marine conditions can be expected to persist along the Florida East Coast today, with wave heights reaching 4-6’ consistently at all Atlantic beaches. Locally higher breakers in the surf zone will reach 7-8’ at times as strong northeasterly winds continue to build its long-period ocean swell. Wave height conditions improve along the Florida Gulf Coast, with breakers remaining in the 1-3’ range.
Red Tide was observed at background conditions in Escambia, Walton, Bay, Gulf, and Franklin Counties, and in very low concentrations from one sample collected in Brevard County (valid 3/13/26).
Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding today.
Fire Weather: Critically low relative humidities (15-25%) are expected across North Florida this afternoon which will continue to bring sensitive to locally elevated wildfire conditions. Recent wetting rains have certainly been beneficial in the short-term; however, we will need several more rounds of rainfall to push the needle out of the deficit and improve the long-term drought and dry soil/vegetation. A recent uptick in local brush burn and wildfire activity across the I-10 corridor and Big Bend will also bring areas of smoke and haze to North Florida. Winds will remain strongest along the I-95 corridor and across Southeast Florida, with wind gusts reaching 20-30 mph possible. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 48 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 2,720 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 428 (+3) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 20 Florida counties that have an average KBDI above 500 (drought/increased fire danger).
Flash Flooding: Flash flooding is not expected across Florida today.
Riverine Flooding: There are no riverine concerns across Florida. For more information, visit the River Forecast Center.
Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 12.07 feet, which is within the operational band and is 2.35 feet below normal for this time of year.
