A fast-moving strong area of low pressure is swinging through the state, soaking most of Florida and even carrying with it a risk for severe weather.
Showers and thunderstorms arrived before dawn along the Gulf coast and in the panhandle, then are spreading east across the rest of the peninsula during the day.
There could be quite a temperature gradient as well, with cool air locked in place over the panhandle and north of Interstate 10 where daytime temperatures might not warm out of the 50’s, but areas near and south of the Interstate 4 corridor should have no trouble reaching the 70’s.
It’s a storm system that the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network will be monitoring closely, especially considering its timing and origin as it relates to El Niño.
This storm system is complex and a little unusual for this time of year. It originated in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico and carries copious amounts of upper-level moisture and energy.
The near-record warm water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean can lead to an enhanced risk of tornadoes. It was just last weekend when a seemingly weak storm system was able to produce an EF2 tornado that hit Cape Coral, the only report of severe weather that day in the state.
