While the clock is ticking on the development of a tropical system near the Florida Straits, the feature is unloading drenching rain on the Keys and South Florida.

Key West has received over 4.50 inches of rain since the midday hours Sunday, enough to cause minor urban and poor drainage area flooding.

Rain was spreading northward over the Florida Peninsula and was reaching into some of the central counties during the midday today.

While drought conditions are not as severe as that of part of Georgia, South Carolina and the Florida Panhandle, central and South Florida is in need of rainfall, on the order of a few inches.

This was the drought status as of Jan. 31, 2012, from the National Weather Service and the United States Department of Agriculture. Yellow areas indicate regions which are abnormally dry, while red areas indicate regions of extreme drought.

Most of the rain from the pattern the next couple of days will fall over South Florida, the Bahamas and part of Cuba. Several additional inches of rain are possible for a few locations.