Big O bounces

Lake Okeechobee isn't low by historic standards (i.e. in the orange zone),

But it is a good foot below its long-term average for June (i.e. dotted white line).

The graph above shows stage of Lake Okeechobee over the past two years relative to ecological thresholds, operational rules and its statistical past.  The Lake hasn't seen a deep drought in recent past, but this spring did drop below the long-term normal (i.e. dotted line) as calculated from 1993 to present.  During that period, the Lake crests on average at around 15.5 feet in September.  Current stage is just under 13 feet.

The big news is that after falling for the better part of 9 months (-3.5 feet during that span), the Lake appears to be back on the rise. Too early to tell how quickly and how high it will go this summer.  Water managers may even be thinking ahead to winter with the return of an El Niño instead.