Is dry air moving out of Miami? Will Florida feel effects from Lee? What forecast says
Drier air moved over South Florida after Hurricane Idalia swamped the state’s Nature Coast in late August. The lower humidity has made it feel less like a sauna. And the rain has stayed away.
But some moisture will return this weekend.
The potential showers and afternoon storms have nothing to do with still far-off but powerful Hurricane Lee that’s churning Category 5 winds over the open Atlantic.
Credit an upper-level low moving over the East Coast, said National Weather Service in Miami meteorologist Jennifer Simmons.
The low, with a southeasterly wind flow, will stir the sea breeze and bring, basically, “our normal summer showers,” she said.
What to expect in the South Florida forecast
Saturday: We could see some of the heaviest showers and thunderstorms associated with the low, especially in the afternoon hours, and more along interior and southwestern portions of South Florida.
Sunday: It looks a bit lighter, Simmons said.
Rain chance: Isolated thunderstorms chances are 40% Saturday and Sunday, 30% Monday and 40% Tuesday into the week, with the concentration of storm activity happening mostly after 3 p.m. the weather service said.
Florida Keys: just a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms in the Florida Keys — 20% — over the weekend, according to the weather service. “Our stereotypical summer” pattern, Simmons said.
Heat: Look for highs in the upper-80s and lows around 80. Heat indices begin to climb back into the 100 and 105 degree range by early week.
What about Hurricane Lee?
The hurricane out there in the open Atlantic is a beast, and despite a projected turn toward the north and away from Florida by the middle of next week, a “steadily increasing long-period swell may bring deteriorating beach and boating conditions to the Atlantic waters and Atlantic coast beaches of South Florida next week,” according to Luke Culver’s 11 a.m. Friday Hurricane Lee update from the National Weather Service.
The increasing risk of dangerous marine, surf and beach conditions, including deadly rip currents, may develop as early as Monday, Culver’s report said. “Swells will gradually build through the week, potentially bringing a threat of beach erosion from rough and pounding surf across multiple high tide cycles late in the week.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 10:37 AM.
