Rains pass, leave mosquitoes, leaky roofs – Naples Daily News

Sam Ogozalek, Naples Daily News Published 5:42 p.m. ET June 8, 2017 | Updated 13 hours ago

Heavy rains pound Southwest Florida on June 7, 2017. Andrew West/news-press.com

Peter Berec comforts friend Mariu Lazzaro, not pictured, as she waits inside her car for help from a towing service along Bald Eagle Drive near the San Marco Road intersection Wednesday, June 7, 2017 in Marco Island, Fla.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

The drought is almostover.

Following record rainfall in portions of Southwest Florida, most of Collier County is no longer considered to be in a moderate drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Instead, most of the county is now just considered abnormally dry.

More: Day after record rain in Naples area, more keeps falling

More: Flooding closes some Collier roads, with more rain on the way

More: Tropical storm remnants soaking Southwest Florida

More: Southwest Florida so dry that canals, wells, pumps, lawn watering are concerns

More: Get the latest weather forecast at naplesnews.com/weather

Andrew Hagen, a meteorologist based in Miami for the National Weather Service, said that abnormally dry is still a drought condition, even though it's the lowest ranking on the drought monitor's intensity scale.

That data however, identifying most of Collier as abnormally dry, was collected only up until Tuesday and then published Thursday, Hagen said. By the time data is released on drought conditions in Florida next week, the meteorologist said Collier could be officially out of the drought.

Heavy rainfall across Florida has significantly improved conditions across the state. The Florida Forestry Service's "Forecast Fire Danger Indices" map showing all green, meaning the threat for brush fires is low.(Photo: Florida Forestry Service)

"It's unlikely that the drought will get worse," he said. "It's very unlikely."

The area, which was plagued by brush fires throughout the spring, now has only a low risk for fires, according to the Florida Forest Service.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Beatriz have drenched the county and surrounding region since late last week. The weather system, which forced officials to shut down area roads due to localized flooding, began to dissipate Thursday. The Naples Municipal Airport received more than 3 inches of rain Tuesday, setting a rainfall record. The National Weather Serviceissued flash flood and thunderstorm warnings for Collier several times duringthe week.

The Kyle family bikes through the flooded sidewalks on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 along Winterberry Drive on Marco Island. The heavy rain left patches of standing water along the streets on the island. (Photo: Sarah Holm/Naples Daily News)

Kingman Schuldt, chief of the Greater Naples Fire RescueDistrict, which covers most areas in the county, said the fire department didn't have to respond to anysignificant incidents due to the recent storms. There were no water rescues or callsrelating to water damage, he said.

One car did drive into a canal off Collier Boulevard in the Fiddler's Creek area Wednesday night, but Schuldt said he wasn't sure ifthat incident was weather-related.

On Marco Island,one of the communities hit hardest by Beatrizs remnants, Dave Bear, a captain for the island's police department, said he didn't see much other than secondary damage on Marco after the tropical system rolled through.

"The only damage I saw were yards with ruts in them, from ... carsdriving on them," he said. Even though some roads were closed, the roads didn'tsustainany structural damage because of the rain, he said.

Roofing companies, meanwhile, have been inundated with phone calls from customers requesting help fixing leaks.

Floodwaters surround a stop sign on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 along Winterberry Drive on Marco Island. The heavy rain left patches of standing water along the streets on the island. (Photo: Katie Klann/Naples Daily News)

Over the last five days, Atlantis Roofing of Naples Inc. has received about 60 calls for help with leaks, said Mike Leiter, an office manager at the business.

That's much higher than usual," said Leiter, 62, referring to the number of calls. Leiter added that it could take a few days or weeksfor Atlantis Roofing to finish all the repairs,due to the large volume of requests.

The Collier County Mosquito Control District now is also concerned about possible heightened activity for salt marsh mosquitoes in the southern portion of the county.

More: Salt marsh mosquitoes invade Collier County

More: Collier Mosquito Control District looks to expand with human population

The salt marsh mosquitoes have been laying low over the last few days because of the tropical system, said Robin King, public relations specialist for the control district. The rain would have destroyed the insects if they were flying, she said.

Now, though, with improving weather conditions, King said the mosquitoes will be active again. A full moon will occur Friday, and mosquitoes have historically been more active during full moons because of the additional light, she added.

Its kind of this perfect storm scenario, King said. Salt marsh mosquitoes can travel more than 30 to 40 miles on the wind, according to King, and can fly into the countys northern areas.

King said the control district does not have official mosquito population totals. She added, though, that she does not expect to see a salt marsh mosquito population increase after the latest rain, because the mosquitoes already live in wet mangrove areas. The latest rain wont affect their breeding, King said.

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Rains pass, leave mosquitoes, leaky roofs - Naples Daily News