Strong storms possible in Florida ahead of cold front. And two Atlantic disturbances?
Some Floridians are actually looking forward to the coming cold front forecasters have predicted for Monday night and Tuesday.
Not so welcome: The National Hurricane Center has eyes on two disturbances in the Atlantic — calendar be damned.
On the plus side, the cold front is expected to drop temperatures into the upper 50s in parts of South Florida, mid-50s in the Tampa Bay area, and low 60s in the Keys, bringing “the coldest air of the season,” according to WPLG meteorologist Julie Durda.
What cold front could bring
There’s a drawback. According to a hazardous weather outlook posting Friday, the National Weather Service in Miami says the cold front will be preceded by a chance of rain and thunderstorms Monday.
Though the chance remains at 40% for South Florida, “strong storms are possible,” the weather service warns.
In the Florida Keys, where the rain chances are higher Monday — 60% — the warning focuses on the likelihood of strong northwest winds that “are anticipated to overspread our entire marine district late Monday into Tuesday afternoon” so a small craft advisory is likely to be “hoisted” Monday night through Tuesday.
No hazardous weather alerts for Bradenton are associated with this cold front, yet. Just a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday.
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Tropical weather watch
The National Hurricane Center also has its eye on two disturbances in the 7 a.m. Saturday outlook.
The first non-tropical low pressure system is located about 650 miles southeast of Bermuda. It is causing some limited showers and thunderstorms, but conditions are remaining unfavorable for development this weekend as it moves northeastward.
In its advisory, the hurricane center said chances for this disturbance to develop was 30% over the next 48 hours and five days out.
Yes, we know hurricane season ends Nov. 30 — on Monday. But the tropics don’t follow our calendar.
Another non-tropical area of low pressure in the far eastern Atlantic is expected to move southward about midway between Portugal and the Azores over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.
“Environmental conditions are forecast to be marginally conducive for the low to acquire subtropical characteristics early next week while it meanders just to the north of the Canary Islands,” the center said Saturday morning.
Formation chances for that one are 10% over the weekend and 30% over five days — a 10% increase since Friday’s advisory.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Strong storms possible in Florida ahead of cold front. And two Atlantic disturbances?."
