- Heavy rain most likely in central Florida
- Strong storms with gusty winds possible in spots
- The high humidity and repeating rain chances are back
A weak, but fast-moving disturbance moved in from the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning, waking many Nature Coast residents up with thunder and heavy rain.
Heavy rain in #FLpanhandle from #PanamaCity #BigBend and in Gulf pushing east. Several hours of rain this morning for north and parts of central #FL. You will need the umbrellas #Gainesville #Orlando. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/Ia9cks6Vei
— Florida Storms (@FloridaStorms) June 6, 2018
The large area of rain across North Florida is expected to move into central Florida by early afternoon, where stronger thunderstorms could develop near the I-4 corridor thanks to some daytime heating and instability. Although the risk for severe weather is quite low, some of the stronger cells might produce wind gusts up to 50 mph, frequent lightning and blinding rain. Further south, only spotty thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon from typical sea breeze interactions, with the highest chances occurring along the Atlantic coast near cities such as West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
Wednesday’s disturbance brought with it deeper moisture, quickly replacing Tuesday’s intrusion of dry air. The dew point, which is a more accurate measure of the moisture in the air than humidity, fell into the upper 50s and lower 60s across the northern third of the state Tuesday. The break was brief, but welcomed, after days of sweltering heat indices (what it feels like) in the triple digits.
