Ben Kenyon

As a meteorologist, I enjoy analyzing #weather conditions and interpreting related observational data to gain an understanding of not only what may happen in the future, but also what occurred in the past. After decades of looking at weather satellite imagery and geographic maps almost daily, you develop an eye for features that stand out, and this Saturday morning, Florida’s water tells a story. As highlighted in the video, the lingering effects of last weekend’s extreme rainfall and flooding over portions of east and south Florida remain visible. Much of the St. Johns River and portions of the Everglades stand out as clearly as Florida’s more familiar inland lakes and Lake Okeechobee. The St. Johns is Florida’s longest river, flowing north for approximately 310 miles from marshes in Indian River County to the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville. Remarkably, it drops less than 30 feet along that entire journey - a reflection of the region’s very flat terrain and the river’s slow-moving character. The Everglades is much more than a swamp. Its “River of Grass” features shallow freshwater moving slowly through broad sawgrass marshes. Historically, water overflowed from Lake Okeechobee and traveled south toward Florida Bay, a flow now substantially altered by canals, levees, and water-control structures. A fascinating perspective from space - and a reminder that the effects of heavy rainfall can remain long after the clouds have cleared. #FLwx