After dealing with drought conditions for most of 2011, much of South Florida already is abnormally dry, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
Unless heavy rains arrive over the next few months, another widespread drought could be in the offing, possibly resulting in more water restrictions and low water supplies.
Moderate drought conditions already have developed across the southern tip of the state and wildfire danger already has increased, the weather service said.
"We might see some showers over the next week, but nothing extremely significant," said meteorologist Robert Molleda.
Since the beginning of November, most of South Florida has received between 2 and 3 inches of rain, or about 20 percent of the normal rainfall.
West Palm Beach has received 7.9 inches less rain than normal, Fort Lauderdale 5.56 inches less than normal and Miami 3.41 inches less than normal. Last year at this time, the region was experiencing about the same rain deficits.
The primary culprit is La Niña, which prevents the polar Jet Stream from dipping this far south and keeps winter storms farther to the north. It also is drying up a secondary jet stream that delivers moisture from the Pacific Ocean, Molleda said.
La Niña, best known for nurturing tropical storm formation during the summer, is born out of an abnormal cooling of the eastern Pacific Ocean. While it is expected to fade away, possibly as early as the spring, it is the main reason the weather service expects this winter to be warmer and drier than normal.
For now, the weather service said underground water reservoirs still are running slightly above normal, except in Miami-Dade County, where they are below normal. Lake Okeechobee, the region's backup water supply, was 1.3 feet below normal as of Friday.
The South Florida Water Management District has issued a warning, saying that without significant rainfall in the next one to three months, there could be a water shortage.
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