County officials opened the shelter at the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agricultural Center once again Thursday in anticipation of another drop in temperature into the upper 20s, as forecast by the National Weather Service. ...more

January 23, 2009

The cold weather will continue into tonight with a freeze warning still in effect, according to the National Weather Service. ...more

January 22, 2009

Tropical Storm Fay brought Lake Jackson up more than half a foot, according to a reading of the lake's gauge, and the storm partially restored several other county lakes whose levels dropped several feet after two years of drought. ...more

August 24, 2008

The three were just sitting there in the grass, it seemed. One with a camera and the other two with notepads, the trio seemingly camped out there every morning near the entrance to Buttonwood Bay, doing who-knows-what? ...more

July 17, 2008

VENUS - Nearly a month after a plane crash took the life of a noted black bear researcher, research on South Central Florida's black bear population has been at a near-standstill. ...more

July 15, 2008

SEBRING –– As far as rainfall goes, the last two weeks were rather wet for Avon Park and downright soggy for Lake Placid. So soggy, in fact, that Highlands County Lakes Association Secretary John Ruggiero said he saw the lake, Lake Placid, rise about 10 inches from two weeks ago, which is about what the Archbold Biological Station's rain gauge recorded for that time period, according to the National Weather Service. "If we could even get 5 or 6 (inches) a week, that would be a wonderful thing for the lakes in our county," Ruggiero said. For those who long for the days when they could put a boat out on Lake Jackson, "this is just a spit in the bucket," association vice president Dave McCadam said. He added that the rain patterns over the past two weeks were not that far from normal for the northern part of the county. ...more

July 6, 2008

Sunday's storm mostly brought light rainfall to the area but drenched Placid Lakes, a subdivision to the southwest of Lake Placid. ...more

June 23, 2008

SEBRING — Yep, we had rain. At least a full inch of it Tuesday, depending on which part of the county you're in, and more is coming with the start of the summer rainy season. In fact, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service is predicting that the Florida Heartland could see an abnormally soggy summer as the current La Nina conditions weaken. ...more

May 21, 2008

SEBRING — So much for the April showers. Heavy downpours came early last month to bring more rain than Highlands County would see all April long, and a brief shower dabbed Avon Park last weekend. But the National Weather Service reported not a single drop of rainfall since April 9 in its two gauges at Avon Park and the Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid. ...more

May 6, 2008

It's the original fire bird, its fate for thousands of years tied to lightning storms that crackle and spark and send flames racing through scruffy-looking trees and brush. ...more

February 11, 2008