Storms. Tornadoes. Heat. Humidity. Smoke. Is this Florida, or is it (expletive deleted)?
It’s hot. It’s smokey. It’s going to storm. There’s even the chance for an isolated tornado.
What a way to spend a South Florida weekend!
That could be one of many of your reactions given the coming end of the dry spell and the potentially wicked weather to come to the Sunshine State.
The heat, the fire
The mid-80s and the smoke, if you live in Broward County’s Pembroke Pines and Miramar and near the Miami-Dade northern border, is the first thing you’re feeling Saturday.
According to the Florida Forest Service Everglades Division, a brush fire in western Miami-Dade and Broward that started Thursday has burned 12,600 acres and is 65% contained.
David Rosenbaum, a Florida Forest Service spokesman, said forestry crews are working with some city fire departments, including Pembroke Pines, to monitor the fire, which has been named L30.
The brush fire is in a conservation area surrounded by levies and canals, which are keeping the blaze contained.
There are no reports of businesses, residential areas or highways affected. But at least one Pembroke Pines resident saw ash on a car, Rosenbaum said.
The weather forecast shows rain in the area of the fire, which Rosenbaum said may help extinguish it. The fire reaches down to Krome Avenue, near another brush fire that began early in the week and is nearly contained.
That fire began Tuesday — in the area of Southwest Eighth Street and 137th Avenue — and has since burned 627 acres. It’s 98% contained.
“It appears to be out at this time,” Rosenbaum said.
The rain
Dousing rains could help firefighters contain the blaze but do we want everything that could come with them?
Saturday afternoon into Monday, a cold front that will stall out just to the north of South Florida, near the Okeechobee region, is the culprit for some potentially wicked weather, National Weather Service in Miami meteorologist George Rizzuton told the Miami Herald Thursday.
That prediction hasn’t really changed..
Rain chances are highest Saturday and Sunday nights at 40% and 60% in South Florida — down a smidgen compared to the earlier forecast.
The tornado?
But meteorologist Robert Molleda, the Miami weather service’s warning coordination specialist, has noted some unpleasantness attached to the forecast.
The chance for an isolated tornado is mainly for those in Palm Beach and Broward counties and the Lake Okeechobee area, according to Molleda.
The thunderstorms
The thunderstorms that should develop later Saturday, also favor the Lake Okeechobee area and the east coast metro areas of South Florida.
Some of these storms could become severe, Molleda posted. Look for lightning, heavy rainfall, damaging winds and hail — some of which could be the size of quarters, the weather service warned.
The strongest thunderstorms could blow wind gusts of more than 58 mph. (Tropical storms are defined as maximum sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph. What we may see are gusts. But gusts can and do cause damage. You may want to consider bringing in loose objects if you’re in the area and concerned.)
Though the forecast calls for a tenth to a quarter inch of rain, heavy downpours from the thunderstorms could lead to localized flooding over the east coast metro areas as well as the Lake Okeechobee area, the weather service in Miami said.
Waterspouts are possible, too, so be aware if you’re on a boat.
What about after the weekend?
Showers and thunderstorms remain in the soupy forecast through Monday afternoon’s 60% chance. These, too, could be strong or severe, especially on Sunday, Molleda predicted.
The heat
Though highs are in the upper 80s, Saturday’s heat index was a sweltering 95 degrees, according to weather expert Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’ s Rosenstiel School.
Some have it worse
Take Orlando. Please.
“The Most Magical Place on Earth” could feel more like “The Most Wet Place on Earth” through 7 p.m. Saturday. That’s because Orlando and several counties in the Central Florida area are under a severe thunderstorm watch.
The counties include Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Indian River, Lake, Levy Marion, Marton, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia.
Just after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms extending from near Bethune Beach to near Orlando International Airport to Intercession City. The line of storms was moving northeast at 30 mph with wind gusts up to 50 mph and “golf ball-sized hail,” according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
Orlando, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee and Port Orange are also in the line of the nasty weather.
Sunny skies return in the areas Sunday, with lows around 61 degrees and highs around 82.
Tampa Bay is also getting drenched through Saturday with a 90% spread of storms. Wet weather could resume Monday through Wednesday.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 2:05 PM.
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