"All We Want for Christmas is...Rain?"

As an increasingly-serious drought has wilted crops and increased fire dangers across the region, the hope for rain may be atop the holiday wish list for many. It's a hope that may be answered.

With little measurable rain across the area since the October 10 passage of Hurricane Milton, much of central Florida, including southeast Polk, is suffering from rainfall deficits and parched vegetation. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists central Florida as "abnormally dry."

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Many across the Ridge area are hoping that gathering clouds will at last unleash some soaking rains after more than two months without.

At last, models are beginning to predict a moister pattern emerging that could bring rain and a chance of thunderstorms across that area by Christmas.

Analyses by the National Weather Service offices in Ruskin and Melbourne are suggesting that rain chances could reach 50 percent or higher on several successive days this week as a series of fronts sweep across the area. Those potential rainmakers will coincide with the passage of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, an atmospheric ripple that circles the globe every 50 days or so, causing increased rainfall.

According to CoCoRahs, a community-collaborative rain, hail and snow network, Polk County is generally experiencing a deficit of four to eight inches of rain since September 1, despite the passage of both Hurricane Helene and Milton during that period. Milton left about four to five inches across the area on October 10. The Lake Wales News weather-monitoring station has received only one-half inch since that time.

The normally-drier winter months are expected to be even drier this year due to a growing La Nina cycle in the Pacific Ocean. Growers of citrus, blueberries, and other local crops, along with many home gardeners, have been forced to increase their use of irrigation to make up for the dry conditions.

A group of volunteers have been hauling buckets of water to more than 200 trees planted by Lake Wales Heritage, part of an effort to restore the streetscapes created by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted a century ago.

Meanwhile, firefighters are on alert, hoping to escape a repeat of the devastating fires that have swept across eastern Polk in recent years

A June fire at Indian Lake required assistance from Lake Wales and Frostproof fire departments, who were sent to the scene to assist state and county firefighters under the direction of the Florida Forestry Service.

Indian Lake has experienced large fires in the past, largely due to its position in a fire-dependent natural habitat. The River Ranch hunting tracts a few miles east have burned on several occasions, resulting in the destruction of numerous small cabins and lodges in the area.