Tampa Flooding

     Although it has been rather dry in Central Alabama lately, heavy rain has been adding up over other portions of the southeast region. One particular location seeing lots rain has been western sections of Florida. Major flooding has been an issue in the Tampa area. Tampa received record amounts of rain this past month. Since June 1st Tampa has received 10.69 inches of rain as opposed to the average of 6.5 inches that Tampa usually sees. The city also saw record amounts of rainfall on July 2nd with a total of 4.72 inches. The old record was 2.84 inches set in 1955. The flooding caused multiple Tampa families to evacuate their homes and the Red Cross set up evacuation shelters and gave hot meals to evacuees. Thankfully, no tropical systems are brewing in the Gulf! The current forecast calls for scattered storms each day this week, but the expected precipitation accumulation is less than the record breaking rainfall amounts seen last week. 

Cecilia Reeves
WVUA Weather

Monday Afternoon Weather Discussion Update 3:54 PM

One thing about this time of the year is that it is very hard to get a good soaking rain over the entire area. Yesterday thunderstorms produced over an inch of rain over communities like Vernon, Eutaw, Ralph, Fosters, and Taylorville. On the other hand the official reporting station at Tuscaloosa Airport only shows 0.09” for the month. Therefore, if you see our weather almanac on the news you will be seeing the airport’s observation. As far as rain totals go, the good thing is that it’s not quite as bad as it looks. We are still monitoring some patchy areas of rain and spotty thunderstorms out there. This activity will linger through the early evening and then gradually dissipate. A stationary front will settle to our south and this will keep the bulk of the rain south of our area tomorrow. I can’t rule out a stray shower or thunderstorms, with a partly cloudy sky overhead. Highs will be near 90 degrees, with lows in the middle 60s. Wednesday will be very similar, with a lower threat for rain in the afternoon.

By Thursday and Friday an upper air ridge of high pressure will begin building our way. During this transition phase there will be a mix of clouds and sun, with highs in the mid 90s. Isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible during the afternoon and early evening hours. The upper air ridge will become quite strong by Sunday and this will keep the threat for rain out of the forecast. This will set the stage for very hot weather. Highs by Sunday and Monday will be rising into the mid to upper 90s. Be sure to join us tonight for more details!

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Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist