It’s going to be another hot one today for SWFL, but more widespread thunderstorm activity is expected during the afternoon and evening.  

We’re already off to a warm start today, with sunrise temperatures settling into the upper 70s for most. With full morning sunshine those numbers will jump quickly, reaching highs in the middle 90s in most locations. Factoring in the high humidity, we will once again see heat index over 100° by the mid-afternoon.

The heat will bring the sea breeze in off the Gulf, helping to ignite downpours and storms by the mid-afternoon. Look for storms to begin close to US-41 and I-75, spreading to our inland communities from there. While severe storms aren’t expected, a few will be heavy packing torrential rain, frequent lightning and in a few cases strong winds. 

Saturday will feature another round of widespread afternoon and evening storms ,with more scattered coverage to the rain on Sunday. Highs will back off to the lower 90s both days. 

Tracking the tropics:

Hurricane Lee is weakening as it heads northward this morning in the western Atlantic.  While it is no threat to SWFL, it will near the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada this weekend bringing tropical storm conditions and flooding rain there. 

Margot weakened to a tropical storm overnight as it continues to meander in the central Atlantic. It is no threat to land, and is expected to fall apart in the coming days as it too treks over cooler waters. 

There’s yet another disturbance in the far eastern Atlantic that will have a chance to develop as it moves north of the Caribbean this weekend. If it takes a name, it will be Nigel. Indications are it will follow a similar track that Lee took, keeping it away from the Caribbean and Florida. We’ll be watching it, so stay tuned for updates.