April-May Florida weather and local events etc

It just started here. Heavy rainfall, winds still in the 25-30 knt range, but no lightning so far. This is just a small leading edge of the squall line, and it looks like the heaviest stuff will be here in 10-15 minutes. The stuff offshore that is training into Dixie County already has a special weather statement out for 50 kt winds so it will be interesting if it holds together. Just heard my first rumble of thunder as I type.

Tampa Bay thru NE-FL.

TORNADO WATCH 87 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM EDT FOR THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
FL

. FLORIDA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE
ALACHUA BAKER BRADFORD
CITRUS CLAY COLUMBIA
DESOTO DUVAL FLAGLER
GILCHRIST HAMILTON HARDEE
HERNANDO HILLSBOROUGH LEVY
MANATEE MARION NASSAU
PASCO PINELLAS POLK
PUTNAM SARASOTA ST. JOHNS
SUMTER SUWANNEE UNION

JRnOldsmar wrote:Tornado watch (on phone) for Hardee, Polk, Sumter, Levy, Desoto, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota.  I'm not seeing it on NWS yet.

Tornado touched down in Leon county north of Tally

All OK here. The worst of the squall line is through now. Winds got up to 30 sustained and gusting to 48 knts. Rain was torrential at times, but has now slacked off to a moderate rate. The tide is running 2.5' above normal so it will be interesting to see if it continues running that high up to high tide this afternoon. Doesn't appear flooding will be a concern however.

Good news, WD. Thanks for the update. Tide is a bit up and heading in at a decent clip here.

Major line is through here. 3 imbedded TSs. First was equitable to a decent summer storm. Just over 1/2 inch of rain, so will probably finish around 3/4.

Good afternoon. Got my bonus rains overnight. 1.49" in the gauge when I checked at 7 AM. I lucked out and was in the sweet spot. Most missed out. The squall line added an additional .55". Winds here (no anemometer) were probably comparable to WD's experience. Can't say for sure but the palm fronds were bending sideways for a spell with some minor debris scattered here and there.

Looks like a few of us may get a parting sprinkle near/along the cold front. For those that do it seems just enough to wet the ground.

StAugustineFL wrote:Looks like a few of us may get a parting sprinkle near/along the cold front.  For those that do it seems just enough to wet the ground.

yes out in the gulf here there is yet another weak looking line of rain about to come into our gulf coast area's in awhile,,so far the rain has stopped but still blustery..oppps spoke too soon..the storms coming in here now, more pouring rain here by me.

well my outside bird bath is full to the brim so i know i got close to or over 2 inches of rain.

well I hope everyone came thru this storm without getting any damage..nothing here by me so far, just some good rain and..i hope the winds blew away this awful pollen lol

Good Saturday Morning folks!!..its breezy here and temps in the 60's..a sweater time when walking the dogs but..feels great...well i hope no one had any tree or house damage with that storm..i came thru it ok thank goodness ..well have a great day everyone!!

Morning. Looks like a perfect weekend on tap with mild daytime temperatures and cool overnight lows. Can't beat it for late April. A slow warming trend in store as the days pass on....

JR.....this from NWS Melbourne................
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
Fire weather sensitivity will be elevated through early next week
as much drier air remains in place across east central Florida.

Good Sunday Morning Folks and a HAPPY EASTER to Everyone!!!!!!!!!....cool here as i walked the dogs but it feels great!!...no weather to speak of rain wise so enjoy the Holiday everyone!!

Good morning. Happy Easter all. I was not invited to any of the rain parties recently. We are dry, dry, dry. And today is what I suspect is the last cool front until October/November.

Going through a serious health issue now.

BillsfaninSoFla wrote:Good morning.  Happy Easter all.  I was not invited to any of the rain parties recently. We are dry, dry, dry.  And today is what I suspect is the last cool front until October/November.

Going through a serious health issue now.  

ok Billsfan..was missing ya here but i surely understand..hope you get better soon

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
252 AM EDT Mon Apr 22 2019

.DISCUSSION...
High pressure will remain in control of the weather across the area for
the next few days. There will remain plenty of dry air over the region
today which should allow for another mainly clear day with only a
few clouds likely. Temperatures will moderate a bit more today with
highs closer to normal values for late April but with dewpoints in
the 40s and 50s, it will continue to feel quite nice outside. Ridging
aloft will start to build eastward over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday,
with the surface high shifting eastward a bit. This will set up a
light east to northeast flow for the next few days with an afternoon
sea breeze along the Gulf Coast expected. This NE to E flow will allow
for a gradual increase of temps and dewpoints each day, with highs
returning to the mid to upper 80s through the remainder of the week.
Our next chance for rain will be Friday into Saturday as another closed
low and surface low move through the southeastern states.

&&

Good Monday Morning Folks!!...cool here by me as i walked the dogs but 80 later today well have a great day everyone!!

Morning All,
Everything ok in z-hills from Friday. Only issue was we lost power for about 3 hrs. That's what happen when you live around a bunch of trees. Had .81 in the bucket on Friday.
What a nice weekend it was!!!!!!!!!
Hope all had a great Easter.
John Z-hills

Good Monday morning. Had a gorgeous Easter weekend and got to spend time with friends and family. I ended up with 1.25" from the front plus a downpour early Saturday AM from moisture wrapping in from the Gulf on those strong NW winds. A cool 45 this morning and it looks like cool mornings and warms afternoons all week along with a warming trend. Great weather for late April.

GFS has rain for us Fri-sat-sun..good luck everyone...also it has a gulf LOW out there then

Good afternoon. Bills - not sure what you are going through but you'll be in my thoughts. I sincerely hope you and/or your loved ones turn the corner towards better times sooner rather than later.

Been a relatively good month rain-wise up here. Running roughly 140% of average and should get a bit more to close out the month.

Hope all had a great holiday. Back to the work grind here.

XUS62 KTBW 230600
AFDTBW

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
200 AM EDT Tue Apr 23 2019

.DISCUSSION...
Dry high pressure will continue to ridge across the area
through Wednesday, then shift east to over the Atlantic
Thursday while still ridging back across the state and
turning winds to the S/SE. Temperatures will be continuing
above normal with overnight lows increasing and highs
remaining in the mid to upper 80s.

A cold front will then move through the area, pushing
showers and storms into the north early Friday and then
moving south through the area through the day Friday and
exiting Friday night. High pressure builds in behind the
front for the weekend, but will not bring much change with
highs still continuing above normal and enough lingering
moisture for some scattered afternoon storms. High pressure
then continues through the rest of the period.

&&

Good Tuesday Morning Folks...cool outside here by me this morning..it looks like we have to wait for Friday if we're looking and needing some rain..well have a great day everyone!!..and Billsfan you and yours are in our thoughts and prayers!!

Loving these cool mornings in late April. I had 47 degrees this AM and it felt great. Daytime temps in the mid 80's and low humidity, who could complain. Only problem the sand gnats (No SEE UMs for the Yankees out there) really like this weather as well and they have made long pants, long sleeves a hat and bug spray mandatory at dusk and dawn. Oh well, a small price to pay for living in undeveloped Florida.

waterdipper wrote:Loving these cool mornings in late April. I had 47 degrees this AM and it felt great. Daytime temps in the mid 80's and low humidity, who could complain. Only problem the sand gnats (No SEE UMs for the Yankees out there) really like this weather as well and they have made long pants, long sleeves a hat and bug spray mandatory at dusk and dawn. Oh well, a small price to pay for living in undeveloped Florida.  

oh yeah..these lil gnats just made their presence known today here..gee even walking around outside is rough..ugh

waterdipper wrote:Loving these cool mornings in late April. I had 47 degrees this AM and it felt great. Daytime temps in the mid 80's and low humidity, who could complain. Only problem the sand gnats (No SEE UMs for the Yankees out there) really like this weather as well and they have made long pants, long sleeves a hat and bug spray mandatory at dusk and dawn. Oh well, a small price to pay for living in undeveloped Florida.  

Probably not as bad as undeveloped FL, but the gnats have been really bad so far this year, even in one of the most developed counties in FL. It doesn't help that I'm next door to a tidal marsh. Skeeters are starting to swarm a bit too.

Perfect weather week for late April.

Healing thoughts for you, BillsFan.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
213 AM EDT Wed Apr 24 2019

.DISCUSSION...
High pressure will continue to ridge across the area through
Thursday with above normal temps. A cold front will then
approach the area Thursday night with some pre-frontal
showers and storms possible in the north. The front moves
through the area Friday into Friday night with showers and
storms pushing through from north to south and temperatures
lowering to near normal. High pressure will build into the
area behind the front for the weekend, with some lingering
moisture and upper shortwave energy keeping low afternoon
rain chances in place each day as temperatures start to
moderate back above normal. High pressure then remains in
place through the end of the period with temperatures
continuing to slowly increase.

&&

Good Wednesday Morning everyone!! well it seems we have yet another Hot dry day ahead for us,now tomorrow there might be some changes for Aug and WD's area's ahead of the cold front coming..good luck getting some rain guys..well have a wonderful day everyone!!

perhaps some good rainfall here on Friday?? gee i sure hope so or maybe the fires start............

LargoFL wrote:

Good afternoon. The bugs haven't been too bad here but I have noticed them in areas outside my sub. Hope all are well. Busy, busy, busy.

Morning all,
Not much going on in my neck of the state. Do see
there is a great shot at rain again Friday. So far this month I have 2.43 in the bucket.
Bills looks like you might get some rain from this front.
Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great day!
John Z-hills

Good Thursday Morning Folks...another warm and sunny day ahead for us today and then another stormy Friday comes for most of us...the SPC has put Florida under a Marginal chance for severe storms Friday,,but i hope some good rainfall....well have a wonderful day everyone!!

well just walked the dogs in the park and i have to say..its Really Humid and warm here and this coming cold front is going to bang into this..boom our storms come tomorrow,,stay safe folks if they go severe.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
255 PM EDT Thu Apr 25 2019

.SHORT TERM (This afternoon - Friday)...
Mid level ridging along the eastern seaboard this afternoon slides
out over the Atlantic tonight as a short wave trough with an
associated cold front near the lower Mississippi Valley propagates
eastward. The trough/front track across the eastern Gulf coast/FL
panhandle later tonight and early Fri then over the FL peninsula
during the morning and afternoon.

Winds become southerly tonight and southwesterly ahead of the front
Fri with increasing moisture...models all indicate a band of PWAT
values close to 2 inches in advance of the front. This moisture
along with lift from the upper trough/front and some instability
from limited daytime heating will support showers and
thunderstorms...with scattered to numerous coverage. These begin
pushing into the Nature Coast shortly before sunrise and central
then southern counties between mid morning and mid afternoon. A
few storms could become strong to marginally severe. The greatest
threat will be isolated damaging wind gusts...along with small
hail and lightning.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
349 AM EDT Fri Apr 26 2019

...MARGINAL RISK OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS TODAY...

.DISCUSSION...
A highly amplified pattern has set up over the east coast.
Sharp mid- upper level ridging has slipped off the east
coast and extends from the Bahamas northward through the New
England states and into Quebec. Deep troughing extends
south through the Mississippi River Valley and into the
northeastern Gulf of Mexico. This trough will lend support
to the weather system moving through the Florida panhandle
this morning and expected to move through the Florida
peninsula later today. The trough will exit to the northeast
late Friday evening into Saturday morning as a zonal
pattern sets up over the southeast U.S. through the weekend.
Strong upper ridging builds over Florida late Monday into
Tuesday and will persist through most of next week.

On the surface, an area of low pressure and associated frontal
boundary moves eastward across northern Florida. Latest radar
imagery is showing the stronger storms moving through the northern
coastal waters and Levy County. SPC continues to hold most
of the Florida peninsula in a Marginal Risk for severe
weather today. The greatest threat will be damaging winds
with passing storms. Storms are currently moving through the
Nature Coast, with the latest HRRR model guidance slowly
progressing the storms southeastward through central Florida
late morning/early afternoon and exiting southwest Florida
by the early evening. High pressure builds in behind this
front on Saturday and will persist through all of next week
producing rain-free conditions and warm weather.

&&

Good Friday Morning folks and TGIF!!!..well rain and storms are just north of my area..maybe WD and JOHN are getting some already..they say possible severe storms and/or strong winds are possible..stay say folks

Let us know how it is in Your area folks..thanks and be safe

TGIF! Been raining here off and on for awhile now. I had 1.25" in the gauge this AM and I thought it was over except for some additional light rain. I was wrong. Looks like another batch of heavy rain built up offshore and is training in off the Gulf into Levy County. Rain is coming down here currently at a pretty good clip. Won't be surprised if we end up with close to 2" out of this front.
Those of us in the northern half of the state should be thankful for the fact that we are still having cold front passages in late April. I have had to wear a jacket every morning this week and it looks like this front will keep the cool morning temps around through the weekend. I have to think this might be the last one though so I am going to enjoy it.