Wildfires tend to be more of a California and West Coast headlining phenomenon, but humid, tropical Florida might be getting dry heat this coming year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
There are variables combining that have experts predicting above-normal wildfire activity in the Florida panhandle along the Florida-Georgia line.
"By January, above normal significant fire potential is forecast across the Florida Panhandle, north Florida, and the Georgia coast," according to the Dec. 1 report. "Above normal potential will expand into much of the Southeast coast in February, with above normal potential also developing across south and west Texas, southeast New Mexico, and southwest Florida. Above normal potential will continue across these areas into March, with above normal significant fire potential expanding to cover much of the Trans Pecos of west Texas."
Drought conditions tend to be predictive of wildfire activity, and they can even come time to time in the tropical Florida climate areas.
There are around 4,000 wildfires every year that destroy around 200,000 acres, according to the report.
Droughts prove costly for crops in Florida, too, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The world is experiencing drought situations in what is billed as a "triple-dip" La Niña, according to the report.
Florida gets heavy rainfall, but it tends to come hard and fast, followed by dry periods.
"Looking at the bigger picture, La Niña is expected to be the dominant climate driver through winter and perhaps early spring," according to the report. "Even if equatorial Pacific water temperatures trend towards neutral, as is currently forecast, changes in the atmosphere typically lag by several months. More importantly, lack of soil moisture recharging typically observed during La Niña winters could maintain areas of drought and fire potential well into spring.
"One major area of uncertainty this winter lies in the potential for high latitude blocking over the Arctic, north Pacific, or north Atlantic Oceans. Blocking episodes, where an abnormally strong high-pressure ridge dominates the higher latitudes, have the potential to force extremely cold and dry air into the southern U.S., similar to what has already occurred twice this fall."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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