Drenching downpours, locally gusty
thunderstorms and squalls at sea will continue in and around Florida into the
weekend.
While Florida is typically very active in
terms of tropical downpours and thunderstorms during the middle of the summer,
this pattern will bring stronger, more drenching and more frequent storms than
average to part of the state.
Most of the storms will tend to focus along
the Florida west coast and central counties of the peninsula from Interstate 4
to I-10. However, some storms will also affect the northern counties of the
state and along the Atlantic coast.
Many of the storms have been traveling from
the southwest to the northeast, rather than the traditional Atlantic coast to
interior locations. According to
AccuWeather Hurricane and Southeast Expert Dan Kottlowski, "This movement
is likely to continue into midweek and will allow some storms to reach the
Atlantic beaches during the late afternoon and evening."
Rainfall has averaged 2-4 inches over the
central counties of the peninsula, since the start of the weekend. A few
locations have picked up 6 inches. Additional
heavy rainfall is forecast over the central and northern counties of the state
into this weekend. During the pattern, some communities may end up with more
than a foot of rain with many locations receiving 3-6 inches for the entire
event.
A slow-moving storm system and stalled front
responsible for the rainfall and storms will linger nearby this week and into
the weekend. The southeastern counties
of the peninsula and the Keys will receive the least amount of rain from the
stormy pattern. These areas are in need of rain due to building drought this
summer.
There continues to be a chance of tropical
development along the frontal zone, but this chance is low and may soon
diminish.
"Since the area of disturbed weather is
close to land and may move over the United States mainland, the small chance of
tropical development will get even smaller," Kottlowski said. "Dry
air and disruptive winds aloft will continue to greatly reduce the chance of
development elsewhere in the Atlantic basin through the first half of
August."
All areas, especially those along the
Southeast U.S. coast, will continue to be monitored closely.
By Alex Sosnowski,
AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist
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