Today's wet weather in Southwest Florida is tied to Idalia, but only marginally

As Tropical Storm Idalia continues to strengthen today and most likely become Hurricane Idalia sooner than later, some people in Southwest Florida might be wondering for the rain and thunderstorms covering the region today are connected to Idalia.

Are these outer bands from Idalia? No.

Is the unstable weather associated with Idalia? Yes.

More: Tropical Storm Idalia expected to rapidly intensify like Ian did: What to know

We connected with the National Weather Service experts in Ruskin, Florida today and this is what meteorologist Ali Davis told us:

"While our environment this afternoon is starting to be influenced by Tropical Storm Idalia, the system is still too far south for today's afternoon convection to be considered outer bands of the storm. Over the past 48 hours, we have seen moisture throughout the atmosphere slowly increase as the tropical moisture associated with Idalia begins to move north," David said. "On a similar note, the south to north movement of the storms this afternoon is due to the general synoptic, or large scale, weather pattern surrounding Idalia."

"So, while our thunderstorm activity today cannot be considered "Idalia", the atmospheric conditions that make the storms possible are influenced by the large scale weather pattern of Idalia," she said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Tropical Storm Idalia making conditions favorable for rainy day