03/07/2026
Good morning,
living on the West Coast of Florida we are all familiar with the usual, yearly exercise of getting ready for hurricane season. Some folks may be new to this idea, some have been here for several years and some of us have been through a decade or a few decades or more of these. One thing that never seems to change is the idea that starting around March or April, we start to get occasional updates from weather services and as the season ramps up and we get closer to August, with more and more frequency, about being ready for a hurricane, should one pop up in the Gulf.
First of all - yes, it is a serious business. Hurricanes are no joke and I would never downplay their effects because having gone through about a dozen or so, including Helene and Milton (did he ever get his red stapler back...?) and being part of the cleanup crew, we saw what they can do in a 24-48 hour time span. These storms bring a lot of water and wind with them and cause tremendous damage.
Having said that, what we sometimes forget is that this area, especially here in St. Pete and the peninsula in general, we usually get a lot of summer rains - usually. Right now we are in a drought and checking the long range forecast for 2026, that drought appear to continue for this year. At least as of today.
The projection for the next 10 months is BELOW average for precipitation - https://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/FL/Saint%20Petersburg,%20Pinellas%20County
So although that can change, and the possibility for hurricanes that could bring a lot of water to our area can increase, the current outlook is that we will continue to be in a water deficit for this year. There are not a lot of hurricanes forecasted for this year and if you remember, last year we didn't have any that came close to us.
Our company, L Squad, Inc is a drainage company. We only make money if folks need water removed from their properties or mitigated. So the outlook for us this year is slower than last year because we are not anticipating a lot of rain. Having said that, if you would like a French Drain put in, this is the year to do it because prices for materials might be lower due to less of a demand. However. We are also part of this community and we use resources like everyone else. So what we are doing right now, is trying to conserve water as much as we can because we are in a deficit.
For example, we are using rain barrels to capture rain water as much as we can and then use it to water plants and vegetables that we are growing. We don't water our lawn because well... that just seems like a silly idea now that we are in a deficit. Trying to restrict showers to a few minutes (which, if you have kids, telling them ANYTHING is a battle and with teenagers, I feel like I'm constantly telling my kid to turn lights off, don't run the water, close doors... it never ends).
We're looking at a weather pattern that seems to be out of the ordinary and we don't know how much rain we will get this year. The projection is less water and less rain so getting into a pattern of water conservation and using resources with consideration rather than just flippantly seems like a prudent step.
Long-range weather forecast for Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, FL. See extended weather trends and seasonal outlooks for your area.
