What will Labor Day weekend be like in Florida? Storms or sun? Depends on your area
“It’s the first day of meteorological fall but South Florida will still feel like summer,” NBC 6 meteorologist Angie Lassman tweeted Wednesday morning on the first day of September. That means, of course, hot and humid and afternoon storms, according to forecasters.
It was so hot that Miami set a temperature record for the day with a high of 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 95 in 2006.
Labor Day weekend
But what about the last holiday weekend of the summer: Are we going to be able to enjoy Labor Day outdoors or is it going to be a weekend of watching the rain against our windows?
As tropical depression Ida moves from the Mid-Atlantic to the northeast, South Florida will begin to feel a tail of moisture, National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Baxter said Wednesday.
“We’re definitely looking at an uptake in showers and storms tomorrow and Friday,” Baxter said.
Be grateful, though. At least it’s not Labor Day Weekend 2019 when we had a beast named Hurricane Dorian at our doors.
Due to Ida’s southwest flow — a storm that begins in the southwest and heads into the northeast — this should keep Florida’s west coast dry and create a sea breeze over the east, Baxter said.
Meteorologist Sammy Hadi at the center said the flow will drag thunderstorm activity along the east coast and heat things up.
In other words, people looking for a staycation or a day trip can expect a drier weekend in Naples and Bradenton.
With South Florida highs in the low- to mid-90s, people gathering for backyard barbecues and park picnics should stick to the mornings.
“It won’t be a washout, but it’s definitely going to be more active in the afternoon,” Baxter said.
In the Florida Keys, there’s a chance of isolated thunderstorms through Tuesday, but the primary hazard is lightning strikes according to the National Weather Service.
Orlando, and its various area theme parks, improves Friday into the weekend, with the highest rain chance on Sunday at 40%. And Naples’ “worst” day would be Saturday’s 50% storm chance.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 12:52 PM.
