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(141) stories found containing 'weather'


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  • Polk Eneacts County-wide Burn Ban

    Special to the News|Updated Apr 17, 2025

    As Polk County continues experiencing dry weather conditions due to a prolonged lack of rainfall, Polk County officials issued a burn ban effective April 15. The ban includes unincorporated Polk County. The burn ban is determined using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI). The KBDI is a continuous reference scale, ranging from 0 to 800. It assesses the moisture content from no moisture deficiency (0) to maximum drought conditions (800) of the soil. This helps predict the...

  • Private Firms Set to Compete for Chance to Redevelop the Walesbilt Hotel

    Robert Connors|Updated Apr 16, 2025

    With the approval of a deal with Walesbilt Hotel owner Raymond Brown, the Lake Wales City Commission has cleared the way for the private redevelopment of the landmark building. The acceptance of the lawsuit settlement by the five-person commission, which also sits as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency board, ends a three-year battle over the building. The settlement brings the building back under city control more than a decade after it was given to Brown's Dixie...

  • Snow Expected to Stay North of Polk During Wintry Blast

    Robert Connnors|Updated Jan 18, 2025

    Rain and cold weather are in the forecast this week for central Florida, but snow, happily, is expected to stay out of the local weather scene. Flurries, along with freezing rain and sleet, are strong possibilities for areas to the north of the Ridge, especially along the Interstate 10 corridor in north Florida as the Polar Vortex continues to pump frigid air southward over North America. Rain will be welcomed by most across the local area, although the raw conditions and...

  • Colder Temperatures Usher in Potential Frost, Freeze

    Robert Connors|Updated Jan 2, 2025

    January is shaping up to be the coldest month in recent memory for central Florida as several sharp cold fronts lead icy blasts dropping south into the Sunshine State. Temperatures in southeast Polk are expected to dip into the 20's by late next week after a series of drops. Area growers of citrus and vegetable crops are preparing to protect their greenery from the potential freeze. Florida's embattled citrus growers are hoping that the cold weather, approaching just as trees...

  • Lake Wales Man Killed in SR 60 Crash, Third Local Traffic Fatality in a Single Week.

    News Staff Reports|Updated Dec 21, 2024

    A foggy morning is likely to have contributed to the third traffic fatality in a single week in the Lake Wales area after a crash at SR 60 and Boy Scout Road east of the city. Traffic was blocked in four directions following the early Thursday smash-up. According to Polk County Sheriff's Office Traffic Homicide Unit investigators, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by a 61-year-old Lake Wales resident was travelling southbound on Boy Scout Camp Road. At the intersection if...

  • "All We Want for Christmas is...Rain?"

    Robert Connors|Updated Dec 15, 2024

    As an increasingly-serious drought has wilted crops and increased fire dangers across the region, the hope for rain may be atop the holiday wish list for many. It's a hope that may be answered. With little measurable rain across the area since the October 10 passage of Hurricane Milton, much of central Florida, including southeast Polk, is suffering from rainfall deficits and parched vegetation. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists central Florida as "abnormally dr...

  • Performances by Touring Bands Pleased Crowds at Orange Blossom Revue

    News Staff Reports|Updated Dec 8, 2024

    The annual Orange Blossom Revue brought praise from hundreds of attendees from across the nation, many of whom spent the weekend in area hotels or camped in temporary campsites adjacent to festival grounds on the shores of Lake Wailes. The annual charity fundraiser features popular touring bands, many of which draw their own fans to the two day event. This year's show was the 11th in the series, and the event has grown during that time from its origins as a Rotary barbeque...

  • Threat of New Florida Hurricane Rapidly Diminishing

    Robert Connors|Updated Nov 15, 2024

    The threat of a new round of stormy tropical weather is rapidly diminishing for central Florida as Tropical Storm Sara is now forecast to move ashore over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico where it is expected to dissipate. The storm had been predicted for more than a week in forecast models, but the changing conditions in the atmosphere that originally pointed it to Florida have now pushed it farther west. After multiple rounds of hurricanes in what proved to be an active and...

  • Hurricane Season Still Not Over, New Storm Could Threaten Florida

    Robert Connors|Updated Nov 12, 2024

    Weather-exhausted Floridians are casting a weary eye back at the tropics this week as yet another tropical cyclone is expected to threaten the state next week, even as Hurricane Rafael, briefly a Category 3 storm, fizzles in the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center in Miami has identified a new area of disturbed weather south of Cuba that is expected to drift to the west across the Caribbean as it slowly becomes better organized. Forecasters there are currently giving it an 80...

  • Rafael Not Expected to Have Serious Impacts Here, May Bring Welcome Rains

    Robert Connors|Updated Nov 3, 2024

    Tropical Storm Rafael, expected to soon reach hurricane strength as it moves toward Jamaica, Cuba, and the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hold little threat for central Florida, but could bring welcome rains. The cyclone, which reached tropical storm strength on Monday, could undergo a period of rapid intensification due to its passage over the still superheated waters of the Caribbean. Once it enters the Gulf of Mexico region, however, hostile conditions and...

  • Tropics Becoming Active Once Again, Gulf Storm Expected to Develop

    Robert Connnors|Updated Oct 28, 2024

    Ridge-area residents will find a changing weather pattern over the coming week as the tropics become active once again. The western Caribbean's "Central American Gyre" that has already spawned two destructive hurricanes is once again the source of potential trouble. The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking a few disturbances already, and models are suggesting that others may follow. A broad circulation, still devoid of significant storms, is being given an 80...

  • Will a November Hurricane Affect Florida? Forecasters are Becoming Concerned About Expected Development

    Robert Connors|Updated Oct 28, 2024

    After suffering through the most destructive hurricane season on record, will Florida face yet another bout of severe tropical weather in November? That is the question being considered by forecasters as long-range models are suggesting that scenario. Several models monitored by Lake Wales News as well as meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center and elsewhere are predicting the formation of yet another cyclone to our south. If it reaches tropical storm force winds...

  • Mild Temperatures, Low Threat of Tropical Storms in Long-Range Forecast

    Robert Connors|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    Nature is trying to make up and be nice after a few harrowing weeks of extreme events across central Florida. Autumn is arriving at last, much to the delight of Ridge-area residents fatigued from rounds of hurricane preparation, clean-up, and power outages. Forecasts for the coming week include the first solid wave of cool weather, building upon the welcome break in the heat that followed the passage of Hurricane Milton. Early-morning temperatures are expected to dip into the...

  • Plant and Garden Festival Offers Respite From Stress Among Colorful Displays This Weekend

    Robert Connnors|Updated Oct 14, 2024

    In a colorful and welcome respite from hurricane clean-up, area residents will have an opportunity to enjoy shopping for new flowering plants and garden items from among thousands on display at the annual Plant and Garden Festival this weekend. The free two-day event, October 19 and 20, is hosted by the GFWC Woman's Club of Lake Wales and will feature vendors and nurseries from across Florida who will offer their growing things. Decorative annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees...

  • The Peach and Pepper Expands Area Dining Choices With Tropical-Italian Fusion Menu

    Robert Connors|Updated Oct 13, 2024

    With beautiful autumn weather ahead, it's an ideal time to check out the Peach and Pepper in downtown Lake Wales. The new casual-dining restaurant on East Stuart Avenue offers a creative fusion menu in a bright and airy garden. The outdoor dining is the perfect place to enjoy the truly-creative "tropical-Italian fusion" flavors on the menu, which includes delights such as a "breakfast banana split" with cottage cheese and fresh fruit, and toasted brie, served with...

  • Hurricane Milton Leaves Residents in Shock, Facing Another Massive Cleanup

    Robert Connors|Updated Oct 11, 2024

    Friday dawned as another day without power for thousands of residents of southeast Polk after the area after Hurricane Milton raked the area with 100 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rainfall before dawn Thursday. Shattered or uprooted trees, some punching holes in roofs, along with damage to signs, sheds, utilities and fences were visible across the area. Flooded roads and intersections delayed responses to the disaster, a common scene as hurricanes increase in both frequency...

  • BREAKING NEWS: Latest Model Runs Put Polk in Crosshairs of Probable Hurricane Milton

    Robert Connors|Updated Oct 6, 2024

    The latest computer model runs have placed Polk County directly in the crosshairs of a potential major hurricane. Residents may wish to begin preparation for a storm. The Nat According to the 11 a.m. statement from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the area of disturbed weather in the western Gulf of Mexico is now a tropical depression, and will begin intensifying as it moves slowly northeastward over the next 24 to 36 hours before accelerating toward Florida. Arrival...

  • New Gulf Storm System Likely to Impact Florida This Week

    Robert Connnors|Updated Oct 4, 2024

    As predicted here last week, a new tropical cyclone is becoming organized in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring heavy rains to Florida and the Lake Wales Ridge this week. The storm is generally developing in line with the super-computer models closely followed by Lake Wales News. Those same models are now predicting the improving organization of the potential cyclone this weekend as it moves eastward toward the Florida peninsula from the western Gulf. The National...

  • Hurricane Helene Expected to Move Northward Near Florida This Week

    Robert Connors|Updated Sep 23, 2024

    Florida residents are urged to be alert and prepared as Hurricane Helene is likely to form rapidly and bring the threats of high winds and flooding to Florida this week. National Hurricane Center forecasters are suggesting a 90 percent chance of a cyclone growing from an area of disturbed weather over the Caribbean by Tuesday. That system is then expected to move northward through the eastern Gulf of Mexico, where rapid intensification is possible. The NHC has been predicting...

  • TROPICAL WEATHER UPDATE: Storm Potential Grows for Florida

    Robert Connnors|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    UPDATE: New information is available here: https://www.lakewalesnews.net/story/2024/09/18/news/breaking-news-hurricane-helene-expected-to-move-northward-near-florida-this-week/4475.html After a surprisingly quiet several weeks in the midst of the hurricane season, it's time for Floridians to make certain that they are prepared for a storm as the tropics begin to heat up. Forecast models are developing a low over the Caribbean that could become a significant cyclone in the...

  • Debby Leaves Heavy Rainfall Totals But Causes No Serious Damage Locally

    Robert Connnors|Updated Aug 6, 2024

    The Ridge area and southeastern Polk generally escaped damage during the passage of Hurricane Debby to the west of the peninsula, but the tropics remain active, with yet another disturbance following in the path of the recent storm. Unlike areas along the coast that saw serious flooding from both heavy rains and storm surge, the local area generally avoided problems with high water. Rainfall totals across the area generally fell in the six-to-eight inch category during the pas...

  • UPDATE: Hurricane Warning Now in Effect for Portion of Florida West Coast

    Robert Connors|Updated Aug 3, 2024

    Heavy rains southeast Polk and the Ridge area may be accompanied by gusty winds on Sunday and Monday as Tropical Storm Debby. currently located near Cuba will affect Florida's weather. The current forecast keeps the center of newly-designated Tropical Storm Debby away from the Tampa Bay area over the Gulf, reaching the coast only in the Big Bend area. The National Hurricane Center in Miami is projecting that the Debby will reach hurricane strength as it passes over the very...

  • Hurricane Season Heating Up as Peak Approaches

    Robert Connnors|Updated Jul 28, 2024

    After a lull of several weeks without even a tropical depression, let alone a named storm, the Atlantic Hurricane Season is heating up again. August and September form the heart of the storm season, which peaks around September 10, according to historical records. Forecasters and computer models have alerted to the possible formation of a new cyclone this week in the vicinity of the Antilles. If the storm forms there, it is likely to track in the general direction of the...

  • Apparent Tornado in Alturas Tuesday Reminder of Dangers of Severe Weather

    Robert Connnors|Updated Jul 24, 2024

    An apparent tornado spawned by a line of strong thunderstorms touched down in the Alturas area Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. Luckily the funnel struck in a rural, agricultural area and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Witnesses traveling along the Alturas-Babson Park Cutoff Road, often referred to locally as "ABC" road, saw the funnel moving through the sky, and photos show it stirring up a cloud of condensation and debris at ground level. The funnel appeared...

  • Lake Wales Resident Drowns on Lake Annie During Kayaking Trip

    News Staff Reports|Updated Jul 15, 2024

    A 40-year-old Lake Wales man is dead after a kayaking trip on a local lake. A death investigation is underway following the recovery of the body of an adult male from Lake Annie, a 407-acre lake in the Waverly area of Lake Wales early this morning. Shane Park of Magnolia Street in Lake Wales had set out on the lake about 3:30 p.m. Sunday in a kayak. Weather at the time was fine, but thunderstorms began moving into the area a short time later. When he failed to return to shore...

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