Tampa Bay Weekend Weather: Sunny Days, Possibly Stormy Nights

TAMPA BAY, FL — Tampa Bay area residents ready for sunshine and blue skies after last week’s soggy days might want to pull out their shades for the weekend ahead. Don’t put those umbrellas up too fast though! Forecasters at the National Weather Service say summertime’s normal pattern is expected. That means afternoon storms are also in the cards.

Friday kicks things off with sunny conditions to start. A high around 90 is anticipated with a heat index near 100. As the afternoon progresses, however, rain chances climb. There’s a 20 percent chance for isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon hours. Those chances climb to about 60 percent heading into the overnight hours when the low should drop to the mid-70s.

Saturday is expected to begin with mostly sunny conditions and a high around 92 in much of the Tampa Bay area. Storm chances once again move in during the afternoon hours and climb to about 30 percent overnight. The evening low is expected to drop to about 75 degrees in much of the region.

Sunday is a near repeat of Saturday with a mostly sunny start and a high in the low 90s expected. Scattered thunderstorm chances move in starting around 2 p.m. and stick around through the evening hours. The overnight low is expected to fall into the mid- to upper-70s.

While those steady rains of last week are in the past, forecasters do warn that thunderstorms this weekend could kick up strong, gusty winds and dump locally heavy rains in some parts of the region. As always, folks should watch out for lightning strikes, as well.

This weekend is also the anticipated peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Friday night rains could make it a tough one to watch, but the highlight of the show isn’t expected until moonset, which is around 1:51 a.m. It’s possible the skies will clear enough for folks to check out the celestial show. To find out more about the meteor shower check out: Perseid Meteor Shower 2016 Peak: Will Tampa Bay’s Rain Stop in Time?

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

Patch file photo