Heavy rains blanket Hernando County

The Brooksville airport picked up 2.81 inches of rain in a 15-hour period Tuesday as a moisture-laden front from the north parked over the area.

Downtown Brooksville received about 3 inches and Spring Hill 1 to 2 inches.

Pasco County got hit the hardest Tuesday, with 4 inches falling in West Pasco and 3 to 4 inches around Land 'O Lakes.

"There's a pile of moisture out there," said Ryan Sharp, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

The same front brings a 70 percent chance of rain today, 60 percent Thursday and 40 percent Friday.

Sharp said this front should clear out by the weekend and the regular summer pattern, with thunderstorms in the afternoon, will return.

The effects of the tropical storm that brushed by the Yucatan have gone away.

Anthony Reynes, another meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, said tropical systems that form early in the hurricane season typically don't have enough time to develop.

But, he added, "We need all the rain we can get."

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's latest news release shows Hernando, along with five other counties in the water district's northern area, received 4.10 inches of rain from June 1 through June 24.

The aquifer level, the underground layer of rock that holds water, has finally risen to positive levels. As of June 24, it was at 0.43 feet above, compared with a negative 0.07 feet in May.