Florida’s brutal drought worsens; Orlando has hottest start to year on record

ORLANDO, Fla. — With less than 2 inches of rain this year, Orlando is enduring its second driest stretch from Jan. 1 to April 5 since the late 1800s and also its hottest on record for that period.

The city, Central Florida and much of the state’s peninsula are experiencing a widening severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a collaboration of universities and federal environmental agencies. “When was the last time it rained?” said Fran Boettcher, a master gardener at the Orange County and University of Florida agricultural extension center.