One of the biggest weather stories in recent years is the distinct lack of weather in much of the country—the drought is an ongoing, slow-motion disaster in the western United States, but abnormally dry conditions are starting to spread east. More than half of the United States is suffering from an unusual lack of rainfall, with much of the south and East Coast joining the west in their need for water.

Remember Erika? The mountains of Hispaniola and Cuba tore it to bits, and the National Hurricane Center declared it dead at 9:30 this morning. All that tropical moisture has to go somewhere, though, and Florida could still see several inches of rain from its remnants. Tropical downpours on saturated soil will lead to the potential for dangerous flooding, so it’s not something to take lightly.

Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in Florida this morning in anticipation of Tropical Storm Erika’s arrival this weekend and early next week. The storm’s disorganized nature and erratic motion is making it a nightmare to forecast. Here’s what you need to know about Erika as it draws closer to the U.S.

We’re fast approaching ten years since the last hurricane made landfall in Florida. Hurricane Wilma struck the southwestern tip of the state on October 24, 2005, and ever since then, this hurricane-prone panhandle has been incredibly lucky. That could change in the coming days if the forecasts hold true.

The stroke of midnight this morning closed the record books on yet another quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. We only saw a handful of newsworthy storms, but the real story is what didn't happen. It's been nine years—3,326 days—since the last major hurricane hit the United States.

An astute reader pointed out that there's a strange storm system sitting off the eastern coast of Florida that strongly resembles a hurricane on radar imagery. Even though it looks just like a hurricane, it's not even close to being one. Why is that? Let's take a look.

The National Weather Service reports that a tornado was spotted around 235PM EDT just west of the Miami Airport in southeastern Florida, moving northeast through the suburbs of Miami proper. While the rotation wasn't immediately evident on radar, the storm moving past the airport had a very clear pendant-like feature, which is likely where the tornado was located at the time.

Between 10 and 15 inches of rain fell along the northern Gulf Coast in less than 24 hours yesterday, resulting in catastrophic flash flooding in cities along Interstate 10 from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida. The National Weather Service issued a "flash flood emergency" for much of the area as both waterways and infrastructure were overwhelmed by the copious amounts of rain.