© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WUSF is part of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, which provides up-to-the minute weather and news reports during severe weather events on radio, online and on social media for 13 Florida Public Media stations. It’s available on WUSF 89.7 FM, online at WUSFNews.org and through the free Florida Storms app, which provides geotargeted live forecasts, information about evacuation routes and shelters, and live local radio streams.

Tropical Storm Watch Issued For Southeast Florida Ahead Of New Tropical Depression

Map with potential track of Tropical Depression 19
FLORIDA PUBLIC RADIO EMERGENCY NETWORK
Tropical Depression 19 is expected to continue on a northwestward track, and should enter the Gulf of Mexico early on Saturday.

Periods of heavy rain are expected to impact parts of South Florida on Saturday, and parts of Florida's Gulf Coast on Sunday.

A tropical wave producing thunderstorms over the Bahamas has strengthened into Tropical Depression Nineteen (TD 19).

On Friday evening, the National Hurricane Center said that the system had become better organized, was producing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, and was moving to the west-northwest at 8 miles per hour.

The system is expected to continue on a northwestward track, and should enter the Gulf of Mexico early on Saturday, where it could intensify. Regardless of when this occurs, periods of heavy rain are expected to impact parts of South Florida on Saturday, and parts of Florida's Gulf Coast on Sunday.

A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for parts of Southeast Florida from Jupiter Inlet along the Treasure Coast to just north of Ocean Reef in the Northern Keys. A Flood Watch is in effect from Levy County along the Nature Coast to southern Collier County in Southwest Florida.

Rainfall amounts through Sunday are likely to range from 2 to 4 inches along and west of I-75 from Tampa to Naples, with locally higher amounts possible in some areas. Generally, 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected over the three-day period across the western half of the peninsula and along coastal sections of the Florida Panhandle. Lesser amounts of rain are expected along Florida's Atlantic Coast, except for portions of South Florida where amounts up to 2 inches will be possible.

Elsewhere in the tropics, there are multiple areas being monitored for possible future development in the next five days. However, none of them are an immediate threat to the Sunshine State. Tropical storms Paulette and Rene also continue to spin across the central Atlantic, but are not likely to affect any land areas of North America.

The next tropical storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season would be named “Sally”. The current record for earliest “S” named storm belongs to Stan which formed on October 2, 2005. There have already been an impressive fourteen records for earliest named storms this year in the tropical Atlantic basin.
Copyright 2020 WUFT 89.1. To see more, visit www.wuft.org.

Jeff Huffman is Chief Meteorologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In addition to his full-time position at the university's radio and television stations, WUFT-FM/TV and WRUF-TV, the latter of which he co-founded, Huffman also provides weather coverage to public radio stations throughout Florida
Megan Borowski
You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.