ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A cold front has its sights set for the Florida Gulf Coast and with it could come a few severe storms, including a tornado or two.
Rinse, repeat: Friday's weather system largely mirrors a similar setup to one that produced two confirmed EF-1 tornadoes Sunday in the Tampa Bay region and four more in early November.
The most likely time frame for the Bay area to see the strong storms will be from 7-10 p.m. Friday.
A severe thunderstorm watch has already been issued until 10 p.m. for Lake, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hardee, Sarasota, Polk, Manatee, Sumter and Hernando counties.
The showers and storms will push inland, impacting the Nature Coast first, before moving into parts of Tampa Bay and central Florida.
Damaging winds up to 60 mph, lightning and heavy rain are the greatest threats. Waterspouts and tornadoes can't be ruled out, either. The Storm Prediction Center places much of the Bay area under a slight risk of severe weather -- the second highest level out of five.
Friday afternoon
This time period becomes most interesting. Again, given computer models cannot yet seem to grasp when this cold front will arrive, this could be about the time when it arrives in the Nature Coast -- or begins to impact Tampa Bay for the evening rush.
If this scenario plays out, with storms rolling through as most drivers hit the road, give yourself extra time to get home or get away for the weekend.
Friday evening
It's expected the bulk of the activity will continue to affect Tampa Bay and locations southeast, including Lakeland and the Sarasota areas.
Again, timing remains a big question with Friday's forecast. 10Weather's Ashley Batey, Bobby Deskins and Grant Gilmore will have the latest on 10News and the 10News app.
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