“Wow, this is just dry to the bone out here. Even during a normal dry year, you don’t see these conditions until April.”

Steve Davis, chief scientist at the Everglades Foundation, describing unusually severe drought conditions in Florida’s Everglades National Park. Davis made the remark while surveying the wetlands from above, noting water levels are more than a foot lower than two years ago. Experts say the region is experiencing its driest conditions in decades, forcing airboat operators to reroute tours and leaving large stretches of marsh parched far earlier than normal. (Miami Herald)