Muggy, rainy weekend expected in Tampa Bay, meteorologists say

Michaela Mulligan, Tampa Bay Times
·2 min read

The Tampa Bay area can expect a wet and muggy weekend. Meteorologists forecast the weekend will fall into a pattern: Showers with the possibility of storms in the morning, then again in the afternoon.

Chances of rain through the weekend will be high, up to 60-70%, according to Spectrum Bay News 9 chief meteorologist Mike Clay. Nearly all of the Tampa Bay area will see rain, he said, but it’s impossible to say just how much.

“Some people may get, you know, over three days, they may barely get a half-inch of rain, and some people over three days may get 4 or 5 inches of rain,” Clay said.

It may not rain for the entire day where you are in Tampa Bay, he said, but there will be rain all around you.

According to Clay, offshore winds coming off of the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico may allow rain to develop overnight, causing showers in the mornings this weekend.

“It’s just going to be one of those wet patterns we get sometimes in June,” he said.

After the morning rain has subsided, the Tampa Bay area will continue to fall into its typical summer pattern of afternoon shower activity, said Stephen Shively, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

“So it’s kind of like a double whammy sort of thing,” Shively said. “Like you get some showers in the morning with that, especially along the coast, when that land breeze breaks down, and then you get your typical afternoon showers.”

The heaviest rain may fall on Saturday, Shively said. There’s a possibility of thunderstorms through the weekend, he said, but he doesn’t expect severe weather. However, it’s not uncommon to see a waterspout or two when a rain pattern such as this occurs, Shively said.

Morning and afternoon showers are expected to continue Sunday, but the rainfall will likely not be as heavy as Saturday, he said.

The temperatures may not be quite as hot this weekend, with highs in the upper 80s, but the humidity will be very high, Clay said.

“Air you can wear,” he said.

By the early part of next week, the area will fall back into its regular pattern of late afternoon thunderstorms and hotter weather, with temperatures in the lower 90s.