The bomb cyclone is bringing nasty weather to Florida. When will we feel the effects?
That approaching “bomb cyclone” you may have heard forecast for Florida Saturday has not blown itself out on its track east.
The weather’s going to get rather nasty before the cold front pulls temperatures down from the big 80s to the chilly 50s Saturday night and into Sunday, the National Weather Service in Miami is warning.
The service issued wind advisories and wind chill advisories Saturday morning due to sustained west winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph expected through the day ahead of the cold front expected late Saturday night.
A broken line of showers and isolated thunderstorms are forecast for South Florida for Saturday afternoon.
A weather statement warning of wind gusts of 50 mph was issued Saturday afternoon, for instance. Areas that could see these strong wind gusts through 4 p.m. include Homestead, Miami, Miami Beach, Surfside, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Virginia Key, South Miami, Hialeah, Miami Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Miramar, Davie, Plantation, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.
Wind advisories, marine conditions
The overall gusty wind advisories, in effect until 7 p.m., are for inland and coastal Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Palm Beach, Collier and far South Miami-Dade counties.
These gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, knock down tree limbs and cause power outages.
The wind conditions also mean a high rip current risk, especially for Collier County beaches and a moderate risk for east coach beaches, according to the service.
Waterspouts are also possible with the arrival of these winds and thunderstorms so be careful if out on the waters as Saturday was off to a sunny and warm mid-80s start.
By the afternoon, the predicted near record heat had materialized. According to WSVN meteorologist Erika Delgado, Miami hit 90 degrees, breaking a record set for the day of 87 degrees in 1962.
Seas, meanwhile, could build Saturday night to over 10 feet over the Gulf stream with gale warnings in effect for the Atlantic and Gulf waters. Small craft advisories are in effect for Biscayne Bay and Lake Okeechobee.
When will the storms, winds arrive?
According to the weather service, Florida’s west coast will see the arrival of the winds and potential storms first, between noon and 2 p.m. This includes Naples, Immokalee, Clewiston and Palmdale counties.
Everglades City in the south up north to West Palm Beach will be next between 1 and 3 p.m.
Flamingo in the south, along with Homestead, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, face the strong winds and potential downpours from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The rain and storms would then move off the Southeast Florida coast by mid- to late-afternoon.
Hazardous marine conditions are expected in the Florida Keys, too, with winds ranging from 25 to 30 knots and gusts near 40 knots, so small craft advisories are noted by the weather service in Key West. Seas could be up to 6 feet.
When it gets cold, warm
Then we get our cool down.
A wind chill advisory is in effect starting late Saturday night and continuing into Sunday morning for Glades county where minimum wind chill values in the low to mid 30s will be possible, the National Weather Service in Miami said.
Elsewhere, minimum wind chill values will range from the mid to upper 30s near Lake Okeechobee to the upper 40s and lower 50s near the east coast.
Sunday will be mostly sunny and breezy, with a high of 72 and a low of 68 Sunday night.
Temperatures of 80 and mid-70s lows will be the norm in South Florida the first half of the work week, with the next best chance of rain and storms Tuesday at 50% in South Florida and the Keys.
What you should do
Secure lose outdoor objects ahead of the likely high winds on Saturday.
As for that meteorological bomb, aka bomb cyclone, that’s bringing this cold our way: the definition applies to a storm’s barometric pressure readings. When these readings drop in excess of 24 millibars in 24 hours it is referred to as a bomb cyclone, according to the National Weather Service. The storm can be a severe thunderstorm, a cold front like a blizzard, heavy downpour or other associated weather pattern.
This story was originally published March 12, 2022 at 10:49 AM.
