Recovering: Humid weather in the forecast as more areas open after June 20 rain
What a difference a week makes.
Last week, the rain rendered some roads unpassable, opened sinkholes, and made some communities resemble an Olympic-size swimming pool.
This week, there has been little to no rain, and the sun is reminding us that this is summer and the heat is on.
Forecasters predict the weather will be hot and muggy with a chance of rain coming sometime next week.
Parks re-opening
As residents continue to dry out, more and more businesses and parks are picking up the pieces.
On Thursday, Ocala officials announce that Tuscawilla Park, 500 NE Sanchez Ave., has reopened. Dog owners who were shut out at Letty Towles Dog Park, 2299 SE 32nd Ave., can now bring their pooches to the park again. City officials on Friday said Fisher Park at 900 SE 22nd St., is also open again.
On Monday four other parks reopened: Lillian F. Bryant Park, 2200 NW 17th Place; S. Stanley Malever Nature, 1600 SE 30th Ave.; Scott Springs Park, 2825 SW 24th Ave.; and Toms Park, 2245 N. Magnolia Ave.
Ocala Drive-In reopens
Another place affected by the rising waters last week was the Ocala Drive-In theater, which also doubles as a flea market on the weekends.
Tonia Mitchell is a vendor at the market, which operates Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. She said the movie theater reopened June 29 and the flea market opened on June 30.
Mitchell said the unexpected time off was "an unsolicited vacation," and she is "very happy" to be returning to work.
"It's hot," she said while working Friday.
Steel Buildings & Supply
Next to the movie theater is Steel Buildings & Supply. Bill White, one of the owners, told a Star-Banner reporter that the back of the business took on 3 feet to 4 feet of water. North of the sales office were sheds that were underwater.
White said they had to wait for the water to recede so they could get the sheds with forklifts. White said roughly "a dozen to a dozen and a half" sheds had to be rescued. The area is still under water.
White said his business and the movie theater share a retention pond. He said part of the roadway − making reference to U.S. 441 − was covered with water. He said after Florida Department of Transportation cleaned debris from the drains, the water flowed into the retention pond.
The business owner said they lost "several thousands dollars" worth of inventory. With the water subsiding, White said "the back is in pretty good shape."
Covered sinkhole
By the 500 block of Southeast 28th Place, a large sinkhole opened near two adjoining residences. Now the hole has been covered with dirt. Residents had to be evacuated due to unsafe conditions. The red stickers remain on the front doors of the two dwellings.
One of the residents, Traci Rogers, said she's "mentally and physically exhausted."
Rogers said the property owners have been good to her and her neighbor with finding them some place to live. She said though she and her neighbor will be streets apart, they will "remain bonded from this experience."
In the meantime, Rogers has been staying with family.
"I feel very lucky because it could have been so much worse had the sinkhole been closer with us in it," Rogers said.
More hot weather
Over at Southwest Fifth Avenue, next to the Walgreens along Southeast 17th Street, there was standing water along the two-lane roadway. The water is gone, but two large retention ponds on either side of the road remains filled with water.
Storm after effects: Portion of SW 27th Avenue still closed due to standing water
National Weather Service Jacksonville meteorologist Kip Bricker said the wet weather has given way to a much warmer, dry pattern that's expected to last throughout the weekend and into early in the week.
Bricker said a high-pressure system from the west is slowly making its way to our region, bringing hot, steamy weather.
Temperatures, Bricker said, will be mostly in the mid to upper 90s, with a heat index of 108 degrees.
The weatherman said from Sunday through Tuesday, rain chances should increase, hovering between 30 percent and 40 percent.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Recovery continues after June 20's torrential rain
