ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay area could use some rain amid drought issues, and it looks like some of that will be heading our way come Thursday.
There will be around a 50 percent chance of rain and even some thunderstorms on Thursday, which will be our best chance of rain for the week. Some storms could be strong or severe, mainly in the afternoon and early evening, so we will be monitoring any storm development closely.
Areas near the Tampa Bay coastline and around the bay could see showers pop up as early as 3 p.m., and possibly thunderstorms through the afternoon. While this activity will initially drift inland thanks to our west coast sea breeze, those showers will then collide with the east coast sea breeze over our inland counties, firing up additional heavy downpours and possibly stronger storms across Central Florida.
The main threats we will be looking out for in any severe storms will be the concern for damaging winds or possibly some large hail.
After sunset, this rain will try to drift back west toward the Gulf coast, but it will weaken and dissipate as it approaches the coast. Another round of scattered showers and storms will be possible Friday afternoon before rain chances drop off for the weekend.
While we won't be seeing drought-busting rainfall, it will keep things related to the area's lack of rainfall from getting worse and will also limit the risk of brush fires.
In April, the city of Tampa purchased additional water from a supply company after officials saw decreasing levels of water in the Hillsborough River Reservoir and rising drinking water demand, which had led to increased withdrawal from the river.