ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A powerful storm system has been firing up severe weather, including tornadoes, for the last several days from Texas to Alabama.
As the system moves east, the threat for storms will arrive in Tampa Bay by Thursday morning.
Thursday
An ongoing line of showers and storms associated with the approaching cold front will gradually weaken as it approaches the coast before sunrise Thursday morning.
As the sun rises Thursday morning, more showers and storms will develop along the cold front as it moves through Tampa Bay. A fair amount of wind shear (rotation) will be present in the atmosphere at this time, which could help support some strong to severe thunderstorms as this line of storms moves through.
Severe threat
There is a marginal risk — a level one on a one-five scale — for severe weather across the entire area throughout Thursday.
The initial threat will be along the Nature Coast between 5-8 a.m. and then in the Tampa Bay area between 7-11 a.m. The line of storms will then continue to develop and push into southern Florida into Thursday afternoon.
The primary concern with these storms will be heavy rain, gusty and potentially damaging winds. A tornado or waterspout, however, cannot be completely ruled out especially closer to the Gulf of Mexico.
While flooding isn't a major concern, brief heavy rain could reduce visibility and cause some minor urban flooding to poorly drained areas.
Even though the threat of severe weather is relatively low, it's still important to have multiple ways to receive severe weather alerts. 10 Tampa Bay's FREE app can provide those severe weather notifications along with the latest forecast for your area.
The threat for storms and severe weather will taper off Thursday afternoon, but the chance for a few spotty showers will remain into Thursday night.
A great weekend ahead!
By Friday morning, most of the rain will clear out as drier and cooler air moves in. Friday afternoon will be mostly sunny with high temperatures in the middle 70s.
Cooler and relatively dry air will continue to push into the region all the way through the weekend. This will bring low temperatures near 60 degrees for both Saturday and Sunday with highs holding in the middle 70s.
By next week, the warmth will begin to return with highs climbing back into the low-middle 80s with continued sunshine.
