Rain System Turns Polk Soggy

LAKE WALES | A low pressure system that dropped 6 inches of rain on Lake Wales and just under half an inch on Auburndale on Wednesday will take one more shot at Polk County on Friday before moving on, forecasters say.

Today's forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain, while Friday's has a 40 percent.

Did Wednesday’s rains cause problems in Lake Wales?

J.T. Torrance, an assistant to the Lake Wales city manager, just laughed at the question.

“Storm drain problems,” he said. “Everywhere inside the city limits.”

Six inches of rain, most of it in a two-hour period, will overwhelm storm drain systems.

Torrance said the result was only minor street flooding, but crews were working today to clean out some of the drains.

The 6 inches was recorded at the Lake Wales wastewater treatment plant.

The low-pressure system that moved across Polk County on Wednesday resulted in lesser amounts of rain elsewhere, but almost everyone got some.

At Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, 1.06 inches was recorded, which is shy of the 1.36-inch record for the date set in 1979.

Since the National Weather Service’s official rain gauge is the airport, that 1.06 inches will go down in the record book as the amount of rain that fell in Polk County on July 16.

The Florida Division of Forestry recorded 1.2 inches in the Green Swamp and 1.1 inches in Dundee.

Volunteers in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network recorded 3.8 inches northwest of Lakeland, 1.03 inches southeast of Lakeland, 0.96 inches west of Winter Haven, 0.5 inches in Polk City, 0.65 in Haines City, 0.85 east of Frostproof and 0.47 inches in Auburndale.

More rain is on the way, said Cal McMichael of the National Weather Service.

McMichael said residents could expect an average of ½ to 1 inch Friday afternoon.

But residents who happen to be under just the right, or wrong, storm cloud could “easily see up to 3 inches,” he said.

The low-pressure system that has resulted in all the recent rainfall is moving out and a high-pressure system is building over Florida, McMichael said.

The result is a 30 percent chance of rain Saturday and a 20 percent chance Sunday.

As for the 6 inches Lake Wales recorded Wednesday, McMichael said that’s unusual, but not unheard of.

He said 5 to 6 inches were recorded in Pasco County Saturday night and Sunday morning, and 5 inches was recorded in Pinellas County.

Meanwhile, lakes are popping up in response to the rain.

Roger Griffiths, of the Lake Region Lakes Management District, said Thursday that the Winter Haven chain rose almost 3 inches Wednesday and on Thursday stood at 129.80 feet above sea level.

Griffiths said the chain is still 2 to 2½ feet below the level he would like to see.

The chain’s water level reached a low point of 128.36 feet on June 19 and 20 before starting an upward trend.

With rising water, more boats can get through the canals between lakes, but Griffiths said the owners of larger boats may still have problems.

“The real pressure is off,” he said.

It’s certainly off for the Florida Division of Forestry, as far as wildfires are concerned.

“A little bit of rain will cure everything,” said Chris Kitner, a spokeswoman for the Lakeland office.

The drought index, which approached the 600 mark earlier this year, now stands at 203 and is dropping daily.

Forestry officials expect problems any time the index exceeds the 400 mark. The index ranges from a soggy zero to a bone-dry 800.

[ Bill Bair can be reached at bill.bair@theledger.com or 863-676-7118. ]