Florida, battling dozens of small and large wildfires, is facing its worst drought in decades, baking away rivers, lakes, crops and yards. It'll provide immediate relief, but it won't signal the end of the drought. May. Unfortunately, it can start as late as the last week of June. More than 90 percent of Florida's summer rainfall comes from thunderstorms, which can be a mixed blessing. Lightning will start even more brush fires.
Lightning fires tend to start in woods or swamps and can become massive before they're discovered.
We just hope there isn't a whole lot of lightning, and what there is, we hope it doesn't cause a lot of problems. Smaller fires burned all over Central Florida, including a stubborn 1,200-acre blaze south of Interstate 4 and west of Haines City. Fires persisted in Lake and Sumter counties northeast of the Tampa Bay area, and several burned around Sarasota as well. In addition, firefighters from Pasco County and the state's Forestry Division were battling a fire late Monday in the central part of the county, near State Road 52, a main east-west artery. St. Petersburg Times .