Weekend soaking lifts area burn bans as storms send tourists to local shopping malls

Burn ban advisories along the Gulf Coast have been lifted after a weekend of rainy weather.

The Emerald Coast received approximately 10 inches of rain over the weekend, which mitigated the dry conditions the area had been facing.

Meteorologist Brian Daly said an upper-level low pressure system parked above the Gulf of Mexico brought the change of weather to the coast.

“We got a lot of rain generally along the interstate,” Daly said. “It averaged 8 to 10 inches in Santa Rosa County and western Okaloosa County.”

The forecast calls for dry weather and only a slight chance of rain Monday through Thursday. The chance of rain increases on Friday and into the weekend.

“Saturday and Sunday we’ll get some rain, it will mostly be summertime, sea rain,” Daly said. “It won’t be anything like this weekend. There will be a lot less rain.”

The wet weather helped lift the burn ban in Santa Rosa County and the burn advisory in Okaloosa County on Monday.

Ken Little, public information officer for Walton County, said the burn ban for Walton is still in effect until commissioners can meet to decide if they want to lift it.

Unlucky beachgoers were seen at shopping centers for a respite from the weekend’s gloomy weather.

“Anytime there’s inclement weather we are going to see an increase,” said Katie Johnson, communications manager at Silver Sands Factory Outlet in Destin. “We haven’t gotten any solid numbers back from the weekend, but I drove by and we were packed.

“We definitely saw more people this weekend than we have other days this summer.”

Destin Commons also was filled with shoppers who stayed from the beach but weren’t afraid to get a little wet in the center plaza, which is exposed to the elements.

“The rainy weather has sent an influx of traffic, even to our outdoor area,” Kristina Trujillo, communications manager at Destin Commons. “A few of the more affected tenants were the Rave movie theater and Bass Pro Shops.

“It was definitely a busy weekend. Traffic was up, but there’s always a boost in traffic when it rains.”

To read yesterday's report, continue on.

CRESTVIEW — The drenching rain over the weekend came none too soon, as drought conditions have continued to create problems for farmers and dramatically lower water levels in some creeks and rivers.

In fact, the Emerald Coast saw enough rain Sunday morning for the National Weather Service to issue two flash flood warnings.

The warnings covered Okaloosa, southern portions of Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.

“We just had some really stubborn, persistent rain that just kept raining on the area,” said David Eversole, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mobile, Ala.

“And it was kind of ironic that it was able to rain hard enough to be a concern for flash flooding given that the whole area’s been under a drought,” Eversole said.

The rain could not have come at a better time.

“Personally, I think this was desperately needed,” Eversole said.

After losing crops to the recent drought, several area farmers had to replant.

“We’ve planted one field of cotton three times this year and still don’t know if it will produce,” Nick Marshall said recently as he drove his farm truck past a dry, dusty field off Sky Ranch Road north of Baker. “I’ve got the planter hooked up to plant one stand for a fourth time right now.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor last week indicated exceptional drought conditions –– the most severe category –– for Northwest Florida in counties west of the Apalachicola River.

John Werner, also a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile, said the average January to June rainfall from 1971 to 2000 was 36.9 inches.

Until this weekend, “The January to June 2011 rainfall measurement (was) 20.7 inches, which is below average by 16.24 inches,” Werner said.

• See the forecast for the region. »
• Tropical Storm Bret lingers off the coast of Florida. »

Eversole said the weekend storm’s total rainfall (from Friday to Sunday), averaged about 2 inches. The inland area saw 1 to 3 inches.

“Closer to the coast, I’d say most spots got at least 2 inches out of this and I do have some radar-estimated higher amounts hear of about 7 inches,” Eversole said.

The large coastal rainfall are what sparked the flood warnings and watches.

“Initially, the rainfall rate wasn’t too bad but it started picking up,” Eversole said. “And when it did that, it got ahead of the ability of the ground and drainage systems to be able to run it off.”

Despite the weekend storm, many would argue that this has been the worst drought in the area.

“I have talked with old timers who have lived in this area all their 70 or 80 years, and they all say that this is one of the worst droughts that they have even seen,” Okaloosa County Extension Agent Larry Williams said recently.

Nick and James Marshall farm 1,850 acres, mainly in peanuts and cotton.

“I’ve never seen a year like this,” James Marshall said.

He said peanuts can be planted deep enough that the seeds can find some moisture. The short maturation time also gives it a better chance of withstanding this year’s drought conditions.

Cotton is another story.

“We’ve got some cotton that the seeds just baked in the ground and some that are fighting to make it up still,” James Marshall said.

It’s not just Florida that is suffering. If cotton growers such as the Marshalls can produce a decent crop, they could stand to benefit.

“Right now, in Texas they have abandoned a 2 million-acre cotton crop and that accounts for about 80 percent of that state’s cotton, so it could make for some interesting cotton prices at harvest,” Nick Marshall said.

The soaking rain over the weekend was the kind needed for a good cotton yield.

Williams predicted the weekend’s storm and said it was just what the area needed. He also said conditions were right for a larger tropical storm.

“We had warm weather early and the extremely warm water temperature in the Gulf is an engine right now that would run a bad storm,” Williams said last week. “I don’t want people to take it wrong, but we really need the kind of rainfall that a tropical storm could deliver to our area.”

Produce farmers have also been feeling the pinch.

On a recent day at Brooks Farm Produce roadside stand in Baker, Kathy Brooks Cooper said Mother Nature had “been stingy with the rain.”

“You know peas should be up over your knee, but ours barely got up on your foot,” Cooper said. “And the corn was nowhere near what we have had.”

Creeks were suffering without the usual rainfall.

“Boggy Hollow Creek and Horse Head Creek are as low as I can remember ever seeing them,” said Randy Broxson, Okaloosa County’s bridge construction supervisor. Last week, “You (could) step across Horse Head in many places.”

The wooden bridge that crosses Boggy Hollow Creek has also been deteriorating because of dry conditions.

“Those big boards are drying and cracking and the nails are backing out from the heat and the lack of moisture. Replacement is a safety issue and it is becoming a challenge to the budget,” Broxson said.

“We just need rain,” Broxson said as he ran a shoe across a cracked bridge board last week. “We need a good rain, not one of those 10 minute popup rains on the pavement in town.”

Eversole said a little low pressure system spawned just the kind of rain Broxson was looking for.

Flooding became an issue Sunday when the system sat in one place all morning.

A flash flood watch was in effect after the warnings expired at noon. The watch lasted until around 7 p.m. Sunday when the system finally moved west.

Eversole said Monday will be a transition period for the weather. The rain chances are expected to reduce to about 20 percent through tomorrow and temperatures will slowly creep back up.

By Wednesday, temperatures will be in the 90’s.

“Near the coast…generally low 90’s but further inland, you will see mid-90’s,” Eversole said.

Wednesday through Friday, rain chances will be at about 30 percent.

Eversole said the week’s forecasted rainfall would still be less than normal. But it is better than it’s been.