December’s 8.28 inches of average rainfall in North Florida marked the third highest December total since 1932.

According to the Suwannee River Water Management District’s (SRWMD) monthly Hydrologic Conditions Report released on Wednesday, the 8.28 inches of rainfall was over 2½ times the normal average since 1932. These numbers are from the 15 counties in the SRWMD.

Alachua County accumulated 6.26 inches of rainfall in December compared to its normal average of 2.80, an increase of 224% above normal. The December number brought the county’s 2023 overall amount to 51.79 inches, which was 99% of the normal average rainfall.

Notable highlights from the month of December include:  

• The District received an average rainfall of 8.28 inches, which is over 2.5 times more than the 1932-2022 average of 3.15 inches of rain. This marks the third highest rain total for the month of December since 1932. 
• The 12-month rainfall period ending Dec.31 reflected a Districtwide rainfall surplus of 4.58 inches. This is a significant improvement from the 2.58-inch deficit seen at the end of November. 
• Most District counties received between 6 inches and 10 inches of rainfall on average, though areas of Baker, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor received more than 10 inches of rainfall. 
• Many river stations across the District finished in either the normal (25^th to 75^th percentile) or above normal (75^th to 100^th percentile) flow ranges.  
• Upper Floridan Aquifer levels across the District reflected mainly normal (25^th to 75^th percentile), high (75^th to 90^th percentile), or extremely high (more than 90^th percentile) groundwater levels in December. 
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) three-month seasonal outlook suggests near normal temperatures along with above-normal precipitation throughout the District from January through March.  
• The U.S. Drought Monitor report released on January 4 shows no areas of the District with any drought characteristics.   

The SRWMD’s full December report can be found on the District’s website under the Science & Data tab. The report is typically updated on the second week of each month.