Rain expected for South Florida this weekend due to disturbance in Atlantic Ocean

Chris Perkins, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·2 min read

A trough of low pressure located offshore of southeastern Georgia and southern South Carolina is expected to bring weekend rain to South Florida.

The disturbance is producing rain and thunderstorms as of early Friday morning.

The system should stay north of South Florida, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Kelly. However, he said the system’s boundary could bring rain and clouds locally.

In South Florida, the heat index — also known as the “feels like” temperature — is forecast to be a scorcher on Friday.

Kelly said the index is going to reach at least 100 along the coast and could be a little higher farther inland.

“It’s not normal to see heat indices in the 100s for this time of year,” he said.

Temperatures will cool a bit over the weekend as rain chances increase with the low pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean.

As of 8 a.m. Friday, the trough of low pressure had a 30% chance of developing over the next two days and a 30% chance over the next five days. The National Hurricane Center said conditions are “marginally conducive” for its gradual development over the weekend and into early next week.

Hurricane season has been quiet recently after getting off to a roaring start.

This is the seventh consecutive year there’s been a named storm prior to the official June 1 start of hurricane season.

Tropical Storm Ana formed on May 22. Then came Tropical Storm Bill on June 14; Tropical Storm Claudette on June 19; and Tropical Storm Danny on June 28.

On July 1, record-setting Hurricane Elsa became the earliest-forming ‘E’ storm in history, and the fastest-moving hurricane in the Atlantic basin.

Elsa made landfall as a tropical storm in Taylor County on Florida’s west coast, north of Tampa, on July 7, two days after making landfall in Cuba.

Notably, Elsa also became and the eighth-consecutive Atlantic basin hurricane to undergo rapid intensification, which occurs when winds increase at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period.

Forecasts vary for the 2021 hurricane season but the experts at Colorado State revised their prediction earlier this month to 20 named storms and nine hurricanes.

The next named storm will be Fred.