Disorganized Ana may bring rain Wednesday

MANATEE — Forecasters are predicting showers and thunderstorms Wednesday as the remnants of Tropical Depression Ana migrate here from the Caribbean, a National Weather Service forecaster said today.

Now not even strong enough to be considered a tropical depression, Ana still could bring gusty winds in the 30-40 mph range and a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday, said Rick Davis, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

“Its remnants are expected to produce rainfall for our area for tomorrow,” said Davis. “We could see area-wide a quarter of an inch, with locally heavier amounts of 1-2 inches.”

If you want to play golf on Wednesday, Davis recommended you do it early in the day.

“By the afternoon, our rain chances will increase as the day goes on,” he added. “Outdoor activities, plan for early as possible because as soon as we get a little heating, we’ll start to see showers, starting as soon as noon to 2 p.m. and becoming more widespread into the evening.”

He warned residents to check their hurricane kits and emergency supplies, as this week, a string of storms made its way across the Atlantic and into Florida’s vicinity.

Officials upgraded Hurricane Bill to a Category 2 storm, which continues to thrash toward Bermuda.

The official National Hurricane Center forecast for five days out predicts Bill will stay offshore of Florida’s east coast, Davis said, adding, “That current trend looks good, the track looks very consistent with what the models are showing us.”

A hurricane center advisory predicted disorganized showers and thunderstorms extending from near Haiti across eastern Cuba to the southeastern and central Bahamas that were associated with the remnants of Ana and an upper-level low pressure area.

“This activity is moving toward the west at 20-25 mph, and will be spreading across the remainder of Cuba, the Bahamas and southern Florida over the next day or so,” the advisory said.

“This system shows no signs of regeneration at this time and there is a low chance, less than 30 percent, of this system becoming a tropical cyclone again during the next 48 hours,” it said.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at (941) 708-7908 or at skennedy@bradenton.com