Near tropical storm winds, heavy rain to drench Florida Saturday, forecasters say

It's not a tropical storm, but it may feel like it. Florida is expected to get hit with some windy, wet weather over the next couple of days, thanks to easterly flow off the Atlantic crashing into a wave of low pressure moving in from the Gulf of Mexico by Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

"The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, and small streams the most vulnerable," said NWS forecaster Paul Ziegenfelder.

Showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain are expected across parts of the Sunshine State, with severe thunderstorms possible over parts of the Florida Peninsula on Saturday into Sunday morning that could bring frequent lightning, near-gale-force wind gusts, few tornadoes, and a minimal threat of hail.

Anticipating the rainfall. the Marco Island Boat Parade has been postponed and another in Cape Coral was canceled.

Friday is expected to be wet and dreary in large parts of the state, with chances of rain increasing in the afternoon and evening. The wind is hitting the hardest on the east coast, where a wind advisory remains in effect east of Interstate 95 with winds of 20 to 30 mph, and possible gusts up to 40 mph. A few lighting storms are possible across the Treasure Coast to Lake Okeechobee.

Minor coastal flooding and minor-to-moderate beach erosion is expected along most of the east coast, especially during the time of high tide. All Florida beaches are under high risk of dangerous rip currents, the NWS said, and there is a high surf advisory in effect for all Atlantic beaches.

But Saturday is when we'll get drenched. Chances of rain increase dramatically across the state Saturday, forecasters said, approaching 100% by nightfall. Rainfall is expected to reach a half to three-quarters of an inch in South, Southwest, southeast Florida and inland Central Florida, a quarter to a half an inch up the east coast and in the Panhandle, and between a tenth and quarter of an inch in northeast Florida.

South Florida could see thunderstorms and heavy rain, with localized flooding. "An isolated tornado can`t be ruled out, the NWS said, "especially for areas near Lake Okeechobee."

Heavy rain from strong to possibly severe storms is expected along the east coast by Saturday afternoon.

The St. Johns River at Astor has reached minor flood stage due to easterly winds slowing drainage, the NWS said.

Florida weather radar

Will the weather affect holiday travel?

After drenching the east Florida coast, moisture from the storm is expected to move up the East Coast this weekend with heavy rain.

"Rain will spread across the mid-Atlantic by late Sunday then into New England Sunday night," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg. "It can fall heavy at times and lead to flooding, especially along and east of the I-95 corridor."

How windy will it get?

Wind gusts up to 40 to 50 mph are possible along the South and Southeast coast through Saturday, especially near the coast, the NWS said.

"High-profile vehicles may be challenging to fully control on exposed bridges and causeways," said NWS meteorologist John Pendergrast.

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 Florida cyclone? Are we getting a late hurricane?

The wind speeds may creep into low tropical storm territory but the National Hurricane Center is not tracking it as any sort of tropical system. But on the coast, it may feel like it.

"There is a slight chance the storm will acquire some tropical characteristics because of the time it spends over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico late this week," AccuWeather Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida weather today: High winds, heavy rain to batter coasts