The greater Tampa Bay region could be in for a stormy couple of days — and some much-needed rain.
This is after several EF-2 tornadoes touched down in Tallahassee on Friday and some areas saw more severe weather on Monday.
According to the National Weather Service, a system moving in from the Gulf is expected to produce multiple rounds of showers on Tuesday into Wednesday.
The weather service issued a tornado watch for northern parts of the state — including Hernando and Citrus counties — until 1 p.m.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Florida and Georgia until 1 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/5D1juRWfN8
— NWS Tampa Bay (@NWSTampaBay) May 14, 2024
Megan Borowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says some of those storms could become severe.
"Another trough of low pressure is swinging across the eastern half of the United States and the dynamics around this feature plus a very humid airmass over the Gulf of Mexico are 'priming the pump,' so to speak, for multiple rounds of thunderstorm complexes over our area today," Borowski said. "And we’re looking at the potential for several hazards from these storms. Damaging straight line winds and tornadoes are going to be possible, and we can’t rule hail out of the equation either.
"Also, these storms could produce excessive rain rates, and as clusters of storms track over the same area, the risk for flash flooding is going to mount."
There's a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms tonight, with lows dropping to around 77.
Rain chances escalate to 80% on Wednesday, according to the weather service. Highs will reach 88 with a feels-like temperature of 97 in Tampa due to southeasterly winds and gusts as high as 28 mph. A total of 1-2 inches of rain is possible.
Conditions will ease by Thursday, but we'll see rain chances once again this weekend.
