Flooding A Concern As Storms Head Toward Tampa Bay Area

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay area residents tired of highs in the 90s are likely to get a break over the coming weekend. Forecasters at the National Weather Service, however, say there could be a price to pay for slightly cooler conditions. A string of rainy days and several disturbances heading into the area could raise the risk of localized flooding.

The weekend ahead is expected to kick off with mostly cloudy conditions in much of the Tampa Bay area. As the day progresses, the chance for thunderstorms is expected to rise to about 50 percent, but the day’s high should only reach the mid-80s, forecasters say. Storm chances are expected to stick around into the nighttime hours when the low should fall into the lower 70s.

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Saturday is anticipated to bring cloudy skies with a high only in the mid-80s. Storm chances creep into the picture at roughly 50 percent moving into the afternoon hours and are expected to linger through the evening. The overnight low is expected to fall into the low 70s yet again.

Forecasters say thunderstorms are “likely” in much of the region on Sunday, but shouldn’t start copping up until mid-afternoon. Storm chances stick around heading into the overnight hours when the low is expected to fall into the mid-70s.

While the normal summertime afternoon thunderstorm pattern is expected in the region next week, as well, forecasters say risks for localized flooding are present. Several passing disturbances over the next few days are expected to blend with an already-moist atmosphere to “promote the potential for locally heavy rainfall each day,” the weather service wrote in Friday’s Hazardous Weather Outlook report. “The additive effects of this pattern over at least several days will increase the potential for localized flooding.”

Forecasters say no organized, severe weather is expected over the weekend ahead. Even so, storms that crop up may produce frequent lightning in addition to increasing flood risks in some areas.

For an extended look at the forecast in your neighborhood, visit your local Patch’s homepage.

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