Ida could produce rains, winds for county

Just to remind people it is still hurricane season, a gal named Ida could flex her muscles next week as she is expected to totter into the Gulf this weekend and intensify.

And, if forecasters are right, it will draw a bead on West Central Florida.

Dan Noah, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, stressed Friday Ida is still very much alive and is one of those "coin toss" storms because of its unpredictability.

But Noah said if it does make it this far and it combines with a frontal system, it could become what is called a "hybrid storm" - less powerful than a tropical storm but capable of producing heavy winds, intense rain ad seven-foot waves along the coast.

As of Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center had Ida as a tropical depression located inland about 55 miles west of Cabo Gracias, along the east coast of Central America.

Noah said it is still a big system and should not be ignored, even though the waters of the Gulf are cooling.

"It has the potential for some heavy rain which will be welcome news for most of Florida," Noah said.

No significant rain is expected over the weekend.

Residents should notice an increase in cloud cover Monday with increasing chances of rain Tuesday through Thursday, he said.

Meanwhile, the lack of rain in Hernando County has lowered the aquifer level, which had been steadily improving for the last few months during the height of rainy season.

But with November here and the rainy season behind us, don't look for conditions to improve.

Hernando, along with five other counties in the Southwest Florida Water Management's northern district, has had no recorded rainfall amounts from Nov. 1 through Nov. 4.

Normally for the month of November, this area receives an average 1.98 inches.

October was also dry, with only 1.06 inches of rainfall through Oct. 28, down from the average 2.96 inches.

Not surprisingly, the current aquifer level, which is the underground layer of rock that holds water, decreased from 0.00 feet last month to a negative 0.07 feet so far in November.

The normal aquifer range for this area is between 0 and 3 feet.