Near-gale-force winds (possibly 45-mph gusts), rain coming to Florida this week
It's cool, then it's warm, it's rainy then it's not, Florida's December weather has been all over the map. Now it's about to get really windy.
And then rainy again.
Southeast Florida is already under a wind advisory until Wednesday morning, with warnings of northeast winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph on the coast and a high risk of dangerous rip currents.
Blustery winds are expected to sweep across Florida coasts from Wednesday through Saturday as a stationary front over the Florida Straits moves northward unto South Florida and high pressure moves eastward over the Southeastern United States. Meanwhile, a low-pressure front is expected to form over the central Gulf of Mexico and move northeast. By Thursday, northeast Florida may see frequent 35-45 mph gusts, breakers building to 6-8 feet at the beaches and possible minor flooding.
According to the National Weather Service, there is currently rough, choppy surf and a moderate risk of dangerous rip currents from Flagler Beach south, which will get worse toward the end of the week.
"Coastal hazards increase into late-week with hazardous surf (strong rip currents and large breaking waves), as well the potential for minor coastal flooding and beach erosion due to building surf and higher than normal high tides," said NWS meteorologist Jole Fehling.
Rain is expected across portions of central and South Florida starting Tuesday evening and extending into the weekend. By Thursday, the potential for heavy rainfall across South Florida is expected to develop, expanding to possibly drench most of east central Florida Saturday, Fehling said. Rainfall amounts up to 5 inches are possible over South Florida's east coast metro areas, the NWS said.
When will it get windy?
It's already windy in South Florida. By Wednesday the system is expected to spread to the rest of the Florida coasts and last at least until Saturday.
How windy will it get?
According to AccuWeather, we should see "stiff east-to-northeast winds averaging 15-25 mph with gusts from 30-40 mph likely along the Gulf coast, and especially along Florida's Atlantic coast, spanning several days from Wednesday to Saturday."
On the Beaufort scale, which measures windspeeds and damage effects, 30-40 mpg gusts are considered "near gale" putting "whole trees in motion" and a difficulty in walking against the wind. Structural damage isn't expected until winds get up to 47-54 mph. You may want to take care of small loose items in the yard.
Will there be a Floria cyclone? Are we getting a late hurricane?
No. The wind speeds may creep into low tropical storm territory but the National Hurricane Center does not consider this high-pressure front any sort of tropical system.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida weather: Multiple fronts to bring high winds, rain
