Drought conditions in Manatee County and Southwest Florida are getting worse, and the National Weather Service says there isn’t much chance of improvement in the coming months.
In Manatee and surrounding counties, the drought recently progressed from severe to extreme, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That’s the fourth of five levels on the drought severity scale, followed only by exceptional drought.
Local governments across Central and South Florida, including in Manatee County, have implemented burn bans as these conditions intensify, and water management districts across the state have enacted water conservation restrictions…