


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Tampa Bay Area, FL
Issued by NWS Tampa Bay Area, FL
385 FXUS62 KTBW 040012 AFDTBW Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL 812 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 ...New UPDATE, AVIATION... .UPDATE... Issued at 810 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 Evening ACARS soundings continue show a very saturated atmosphere with PWATs exceeding 2 inches. This is above the 90th percentile for the day. With ample moisture and weak instability with the trough axis in the vicinity, showers and thunderstorms have continued to form across the region. While this activity should become more isolated in nature over the next few hours inland, there could continue to be some lingering showers and perhaps thunderstorms through the evening and overnight - especially along the coast. The primary concern will continue to be heavy rainfall with an overall light flow and saturated column. There is the possibility of some training cells if storms continue to backbuild along slowly- meandering boundaries across the region. However, this is likely to only occur in localized areas, with the most greatest areas for concern in urban spots or locations with poor drainage. The current forecast is pretty consistent with this, but will continue to monitor through the evening and overnight. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 810 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 The atmosphere remains primed for convection into the weekend. With an axis of deep moisture and instability across the region, it is likely that storms will remain in the vicinity of coastal terminals for most of the next 24 to 30 hours. With weaker overnight instability, these should - for the most part - be showers overnight. Inland terminals are unlikely to see much overnight. Once the sun starts to rise tomorrow, though, thunderstorms will again be more likely. As storms inevitably move over terminals, there will be periods of gusty winds and MVFR or even IFR conditions. However, it is impossible to narrow down a specific window when this is more likely. Thus, TAFs will be monitored and TEMPOS added when it becomes more apparent that thunderstorms will impact a terminals directly. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 132 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 Current water vapor imagery and RAP upper air analysis depicts an upper level low over Florida with a ridge to the east and west. At the surface, there is a stalled boundary to the north near the Florida panhandle. The radar early this afternoon is less impressive than expected with scattered showers with a few rumbles of thunder. MOisture remains elevated near the 95th percentile for early July. This moisture is leading to more widespread cloud cover across the region. The cloud cover is keeping temperatures on the cooler side with most locations currently in the low 80s early this afternoon. Due to the lack of precipitation development, the excessive rainfall outlook has been downgraded from a slight risk to a marginal risk. PW values are more than sufficient for any storms to drop a quick 2 to 3 inches. There was a storm earlier this morning that did realize this potential in Pinellas county but there have not been any storms with rainfall rates near these levels since. The weather pattern remains rather similar going into the holiday weekend. Due to this, PoPs will remain elevated but it will not rain all day are be a complete wash out. With the high PW values, any storms that do develop will be able to produce heavy rainfall rates that may lead to localized flooding generally in areas of poor drainage. High temperatures will be on the cooler side in the mid to upper 80s. Rainfall amounts through the holiday weekend will range from 1 to 4 inches with a low (less than 10% chance) of amounts up to 6 inches. The upper level low begins to lift of the region on Sunday as the ridge begins to build back into the region. This will lead to slightly lowers PoPs and warmer temperatures on Sunday. Going into the next week, there will be a shift into seabreeze behavior as the low dissipates and ridging resumes. This will consist of southwesterly winds Monday and westerly ones going forward, upholding scattered to numerous showers/storms in the late morning and afternoons which build up inland toward the early evening. With that, temperatures will broadly elevate into the upper 80s and lower 90s as next week proceeds. && .MARINE... Issued at 132 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 Southwesterly winds between 10 to 15 knots remain in place for the remainder of the week before calming down to 5 to 10 knots over the weekend. A stalled out front over the area will help to enhance shower and thunderstorm development for the period. Higher waves and winds are possible near storms. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 132 PM EDT Thu Jul 3 2025 Elevated moisture will lead to widespread precipitation throughout the holiday weekend. A shift to a more typical summertime seabreeze regime will return early next week. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 78 89 77 89 / 60 70 70 80 FMY 77 89 76 89 / 60 60 60 70 GIF 75 89 75 89 / 60 70 40 80 SRQ 78 89 76 89 / 70 70 70 70 BKV 73 90 72 89 / 60 60 50 80 SPG 78 87 77 87 / 70 70 70 80 && Sea Breeze Thunderstorm Regime For Friday: 4 Sea Breeze Thunderstorm Regime For Saturday: 4 For additional information on sea breeze regimes, go to: https://www.weather.gov/tbw/ThunderstormClimatology && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. Gulf waters...None. && $$ UPDATE/AVIATION/MARINE/FIRE WEATHER...TBW DECISION SUPPORT...TBW UPPER AIR/CLIMATE...TBW