Cold Front, Temperature Drop To Follow Strong FL Storms: Forecasters

FLORIDA — More wet weather is in store for much of the Sunshine State Friday evening into Saturday morning with the storm system ushering in colder weather as it moves out of Florida, forecasters said.

Though the likelihood of severe weather in central Florida has dropped to a level 1 (of 5) marginal risk Friday, a few strong to severe thunderstorms are possible, the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Northern areas of the state are likely to experience more severe storms, the agency said.

The Tampa Bay area will see clouds and scattered showers throughout the day Friday with breaks of sun in the afternoon, as well as warm and humid conditions, Denis Phillips, meteorologist for ABC Action News, wrote on Facebook.

The chance of rain increases later tonight as storms move through the area, he said.

A cold front will settle in after the storms pass, followed by an Arctic blast that could drop morning temperatures to below freezing in northern parts of the state next week, Kelly Godsey, senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, told the Tallahassee Democrat.

"This system is going to be much different in character than what we saw on Tuesday,” she said. “Whereas on Tuesday, we saw that big squall line come through, this is going to be more scattered type thunderstorms that will develop in the afternoon hours and come through the region just ahead of a cold front.”

While the Tampa Bay area might not see below freezing temperatures, residents and visitors should still expect colder weather.

Saturday will see a high near 65 degrees with an overnight low around 49, according to the NWS. Meanwhile, Sunday will see a high near 67 and low of 54, and Monday will see a high near 72 degrees and a low around 63.

Tuesday’s high will hit 71 degrees with an overnight low around 38, the agency said. Wednesday’s high will be around 52 degrees with an overnight low of about 38.