Tropical Storm Sara Likely To Form As Cold Front Expected In FL

FLORIDA — An area in the central Caribbean Sea is likely to develop into Tropical Storm Sara as a cold front is expected to arrive in Florida mid-week, forecasters said.

The tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea, which is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms, has an 80 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm over the next seven days and a 40 percent chance over the next two days, the National Hurricane Center said.

The system will likely develop as it moves slowly west into the western Caribbean Sea, NHC experts said. “Afterward, the disturbance is expected to meander over the western Caribbean
Sea through the weekend and begin moving slowly, generally northwestward, by early next week.”

Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist for ABC Action News, wrote in a Facebook post, “Sara will likely develop by this weekend. There is surprisingly good model agreement this far out. If it hangs in the Caribbean instead of going into Central America, it could become a hurricane.”

While the track is unknown, if it were to affect Florida, it would be midweek of next week, Phillips added.

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At the same time, temperatures are expected to drop as a cold front moves into Friday. It’s expected to bring cooler and drier air to parts of the state by the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday will be sunny with highs dipping into the 70s in Central Florida, Fox 35 reported.

Meanwhile, overnight lows in the region could drop into the 50s with temperatures moving into the 40s from Gainesville north, according to the National Weather Service.

The Tampa Bay area could see overnight lows of around 58 degrees on Friday, 57 on Saturday and around 59 on Sunday.

South Florida could also see morning temperatures in the upper 60s, NBC Miami said.