When I was stationed at Orlando Air Force Base (1960-1961), we received 14 inches of rain within two hours. A VW Beetle was floating in the parking lot (they are water tight!) and it took hours for the water level to go down enough for us to drive to the Chow Hall at 4 PM (hungry GI’s). The street was about three feet above the level of the lawn, and the water covering the lawn must have been two feet deep at that time. As we drove down the street we noticed the water sprinklers were peaking their heads out of the water and were on full blast to water the massive lawns. These were the water heads that shoot large amounts of water out like a fire hose, to a distance of about 60 feet and turn 360 degrees.

According to Orlando Air Force Base Regulations, the water sprinklers WILL be turned on at 4 PM daily! Another case of Military Intelligence! I still laugh at the thought of that incident. The next day it only rained 9 inches, so things did not appear as “wet”.

Whenever I hear that Orlando is having a drought I cannot rationalize what that may mean. Could be a relative or dependent factor unlike many of us living in other states can relate to.

Tom