Gusty thunderstorms to drench much of Florida during 1st weekend of April
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 1, 2022 12:30 PM EDT
|
Updated Apr 2, 2022 12:41 PM EDT
The Sunshine State is in for some rainy weather for the first weekend of April, AccuWeather meteorologists say, and the storminess is likely to be enough to spoil outdoor plans Floridians and spring breakers may have across a large portion of the state.
The dreary conditions will come on the heels of a severe weather outbreak that rattled the Florida Panhandle Wednesday into Thursday and delivered more thunderstorms to parts of the peninsula on Friday.
The lull in thunderstorm activity felt from Friday night into the first thing Saturday morning is unlikely to hold throughout the remainder of the weekend.
The culprit behind the wet weekend weather will be a front that will stall across the region as a disturbance rolls southeastward across the upper portion of the Gulf of Mexico during the first part of the weekend.
Stalled fronts, no matter where they are, can cause trouble, and there will be plenty of moisture that streams in from the Gulf of Mexico and across the peninsula on Saturday and Saturday night, AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno explained.
The setup is likely to trigger an eruption of showers and heavy thunderstorms over the central and northeastern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. The storms may then evolve into a large complex that travels to the southeast and across a big chunk of the Florida Peninsula Saturday afternoon and night. Cities such as Daytona Beach, Orlando and Tampa are likely to be in the storm's path.
This future radar image shows what thunderstorms may look like around Florida late Saturday afternoon on April 2, 2022.
The greatest threats will be from strong wind gusts, torrential downpours and sudden and frequent lightning strikes. Florida, incidentally, appears to have reclaimed its standing as the lightning capital of America in 2021.
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"With plenty of available moisture and perhaps multiple storms moving over the same area, excessive rainfall and temporary flooding are likely as 1-2 inches of rain can fall in an hour or less," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk said. A setup like this can bring storm total rainfall of 2-4 inches with locally higher amounts.
The development of an occasional tornado or waterspout cannot be ruled out, AccuWeather forecasters caution.
Temperatures will be around average for this time of year throughout Florida over the weekend, meaning highs will reach near 80 degrees in places farther to the north like Jacksonville, around 80 farther to the south, like Tampa, and into the low to mid-80s in places across southern Florida, like Naples and Miami -- although the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature will surge into the low to mid-90s in those two places.
People spending time outdoors on golf courses, beaches and boats and at theme parks should keep an eye out for changing weather conditions and move indoors, forecasters advise. The free AccuWeather app can be used for notifications and current conditions while on the go.
Similarly, motorists should be prepared to seek alternative routes as some of the downpours could be heavy enough and lead to street and highway flooding.
"The front can potentially be a problem for at least part of Florida all weekend," Rayno said.
By Sunday, storms may push south of the northern and central counties of the peninsula but may rumble and drench southern locations and the Florida Keys as well. Sunday is likely to be the most active day in terms of thunderstorm activity for Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Naples.
The best bets for outdoor plans will be on Saturday in South Florida, while people in the central counties can expect mainly dry conditions from Saturday morning to the early afternoon with improving conditions on Sunday. However, as is often the case with Florida moving forward in the spring and summer months, there can be a pop-up storm just about any time, any place.
As March came to a close, an interesting record was broken in Gainesville, Florida. The city set a new record of eight thunderstorm days throughout the month of March. This broke the previous record of seven thunderstorm days set in March of 2005. For reference, the average number of thunderstorm days in March in Gainesville is three.
Another rebound of shower and thunderstorm activity is likely over the Sunshine State early next week with the greatest risk of severe weather toward the middle days of the week over the panhandle.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
Gusty thunderstorms to drench much of Florida during 1st weekend of April
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 1, 2022 12:30 PM EDT | Updated Apr 2, 2022 12:41 PM EDT
The Sunshine State is in for some rainy weather for the first weekend of April, AccuWeather meteorologists say, and the storminess is likely to be enough to spoil outdoor plans Floridians and spring breakers may have across a large portion of the state.
The dreary conditions will come on the heels of a severe weather outbreak that rattled the Florida Panhandle Wednesday into Thursday and delivered more thunderstorms to parts of the peninsula on Friday.
The lull in thunderstorm activity felt from Friday night into the first thing Saturday morning is unlikely to hold throughout the remainder of the weekend.
The culprit behind the wet weekend weather will be a front that will stall across the region as a disturbance rolls southeastward across the upper portion of the Gulf of Mexico during the first part of the weekend.
Stalled fronts, no matter where they are, can cause trouble, and there will be plenty of moisture that streams in from the Gulf of Mexico and across the peninsula on Saturday and Saturday night, AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno explained.
The setup is likely to trigger an eruption of showers and heavy thunderstorms over the central and northeastern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. The storms may then evolve into a large complex that travels to the southeast and across a big chunk of the Florida Peninsula Saturday afternoon and night. Cities such as Daytona Beach, Orlando and Tampa are likely to be in the storm's path.
This future radar image shows what thunderstorms may look like around Florida late Saturday afternoon on April 2, 2022.
The greatest threats will be from strong wind gusts, torrential downpours and sudden and frequent lightning strikes. Florida, incidentally, appears to have reclaimed its standing as the lightning capital of America in 2021.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"With plenty of available moisture and perhaps multiple storms moving over the same area, excessive rainfall and temporary flooding are likely as 1-2 inches of rain can fall in an hour or less," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk said. A setup like this can bring storm total rainfall of 2-4 inches with locally higher amounts.
The development of an occasional tornado or waterspout cannot be ruled out, AccuWeather forecasters caution.
Temperatures will be around average for this time of year throughout Florida over the weekend, meaning highs will reach near 80 degrees in places farther to the north like Jacksonville, around 80 farther to the south, like Tampa, and into the low to mid-80s in places across southern Florida, like Naples and Miami -- although the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature will surge into the low to mid-90s in those two places.
People spending time outdoors on golf courses, beaches and boats and at theme parks should keep an eye out for changing weather conditions and move indoors, forecasters advise. The free AccuWeather app can be used for notifications and current conditions while on the go.
Similarly, motorists should be prepared to seek alternative routes as some of the downpours could be heavy enough and lead to street and highway flooding.
"The front can potentially be a problem for at least part of Florida all weekend," Rayno said.
By Sunday, storms may push south of the northern and central counties of the peninsula but may rumble and drench southern locations and the Florida Keys as well. Sunday is likely to be the most active day in terms of thunderstorm activity for Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Naples.
The best bets for outdoor plans will be on Saturday in South Florida, while people in the central counties can expect mainly dry conditions from Saturday morning to the early afternoon with improving conditions on Sunday. However, as is often the case with Florida moving forward in the spring and summer months, there can be a pop-up storm just about any time, any place.
As March came to a close, an interesting record was broken in Gainesville, Florida. The city set a new record of eight thunderstorm days throughout the month of March. This broke the previous record of seven thunderstorm days set in March of 2005. For reference, the average number of thunderstorm days in March in Gainesville is three.
Another rebound of shower and thunderstorm activity is likely over the Sunshine State early next week with the greatest risk of severe weather toward the middle days of the week over the panhandle.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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