For dry land, an inch of rain is good enough

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published May 10, 2006

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The National Weather Service called it "run of the mill," but in parched Hernando County, Tuesday morning's thunderstorm was an event.

First there was lightning and thunder. That was about 5:30 a.m.

Then came the rain. For the next 21/2 hours, 1.12 inches of it fell on Brooksville and Spring Hill. That's as much rain as during all of March and April.

The water built up in drainage ditches across from the state prison on Spring Hill Drive and painted Cortez Boulevard a darker shade of gray.

A lightning bolt started a brush fire at the Hernando County Airport, said Frank DeFrancesco, Hernando County Fire Rescue's assistant chief. But it burned only a 10- by 10-foot patch.

"This is what would otherwise be considered a minor rain event," said Nick Petro, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. "You're about the eighth reporter I've talked to in the last two hours. No problem here; I understand because it has been so dry."

Petro said the normal rainfall for March and April is 6.84 inches, but during those months Brooksville saw only 1.1 inches, or 16 percent of normal rainfall.

Chuck Schneider, operations administrator for the local district of the Division of Forestry, said the rain gave his workers a two- to three-day reprieve, though a brush fire had already ignited in northern Citrus County.

"I don't expect rainfall to make a big difference in the drought conditions until on into June when we get the daily rains," he said. "We're thankful we got it. It gave us time to rest up and get some of our equipment repaired."

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or 352 754-6114.