Forecast: Windy Thursday ahead of storms early Friday
TAMPA, Fla. - Blustery, stormy weather is expected to blow through Central Florida early Friday, and some of the storms could be severe.
Today, the cold front is moving across the U.S., bringing freezing rain and snow to the Midwest and storms to the northern Gulf Coast as it moves to the east.
Winds will begin picking up during the day on Thursday, gusting as high as 40 mph from the southwest, which could cause minor coastal flooding.
The National Weather Service is warning about a “slight” risk of severe weather for the Tampa Bay area when the cold front moves through overnight Thursday into Friday. As the squall line arrives, the main threat will be strong winds and an isolated tornado.
“The timing of this, we’re going to continue to fine-tune this,” FOX 13 meteorologist Jim Weber explained. “This could slide one way or the other; don’t pinpoint exact times on this yet.”
After the front passes, Friday will be a cool day with highs in the 60s and temperatures dipping into the 40s that night.
With plenty of sun over the weekend, temperatures will rebound quickly.