Florida Weather Blog
Florida Thunderstorms and the Sea breeze
Posted by: fredwx, 12:18 PM GMT del 25 Aprile 2011 +1
The summer rainy season in Florida is marked by the onset of showers and thunderstorms associated with the daily migration of the East and West Coast sea breezes. Since the ocean is a transparent liquid the water is warmed by the sun to a greater depth than the land and as a result the water will gain and lose heat more slowly than the land mass.

As the land surface heats it in turn heats the air above it. The warm air is less dense and tends to rise creating a lower air pressure over the land than the water. The cooler air over the water then flows inland creating a sea breeze. In the evening the reverse occurs and the cooler air over the land will flow back toward the water creating a land breeze.

The incoming sea breeze creates a sea breeze front or boundary which acts as a lifting mechanism resulting in the warmer air rising up to higher altitudes creating cumulus clouds. Once the summer humidity establishes itself over Florida you begin to see the building towering cumulus clouds and the development of showers and thunderstorms with these boundaries.

Over Florida, these sea breeze fronts move inland from both coasts (Gulf and Atlantic) which is why Florida is marked by numerous thunderstorms which produce heavy rains and frequent lightning. Often these sea breeze fronts will collide causing severe thunderstorms to develop with damaging winds and often small tornadoes. A little know fact is that Florida has the highest number of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles than any other state. Fortunately these summertime tornadoes tend to be small and short lived, mostly F-0 to F-1. In addition, Florida is also the lightning capital of the US!

Tornado Frequency
  Permalink | A A A
View Full Blog Entry — View Comments (0)
Tampa Tornado Alley March 31st
Posted by: fredwx, 09:53 PM GMT del 01 Aprile 2011 +2
NOAA NWS Tampa: March went out like a lion in the Tampa Bay Region with numerous tornadoes, downburst wind events, large hail and flooding. The map below shows the general locations of reported tornadoes and their paths. Full Report
  Permalink | A A A
View Full Blog Entry — View Comments (2)
Tampa Weather February 2011
Posted by: fredwx, 06:29 PM GMT del 10 Marzo 2011 +2
Tampa February 2011February 2001 was warmer and much drier than normal in the Tampa Bay area. The mean temperature in Tampa was 65.3f or 2.6f warmer than normal. Rainfall was a skimpy 0.64 inches, more than 2 inches below average.Temperatures ranged from a cool 41 on the mornings of the 12th and again on the 14th to a very warm 84 on the afternoon of the 23rd. There were only 4 days with measurable rain and the most rain in a 24 hour period was only 0.33 inches o...
  Permalink | A A A
View Full Blog Entry — View Comments (0)
Tampa Weather January 2011
Posted by: fredwx, 03:11 AM GMT del 13 Febbraio 2011 +1
2011 arrived wet and cool in Tampa with 6.28 inches of rain falling during January, making the first month of the new year the fifth wettest January since records began in 1890. A frontal passage on the 16th-17th deposited over 2 inches of rain and a second strong frontal passage on the 25th was accompanied by an active squall line that move southward across the state resulting in dozens of tornado warnings.Although there where no confirmed tornadoes there were sev...
Updated: 06:17 PM GMT del 03 Marzo 2011   Permalink | A A A
View Full Blog Entry — View Comments (0)
Coldest December ever in Tampa
Posted by: fredwx, 09:32 PM GMT del 08 Gennaio 2011 +2
How cold was December? In Tampa December averaged 53.4 degrees which was not only more than 10 degrees below normal but was the coldest December ever since records began back in 1890! The very unusual cold was a result of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) which remained negative throughout the month and has continued negative into January. The coldest and warmest temperatures in Tampa occurred within 3 days of each other from a low of 32 on the 28th to a high of 79 on ...
Updated: 09:34 PM GMT del 08 Gennaio 2011   Permalink | A A A
View Full Blog Entry — View Comments (1)

« View Older Entries

About fredwx

Tropical Blogs

Tropical Weather Stickers®

Contact This Author
Local Weather
Heavy Rain
Lutz, Florida
72 °F
Forte pioggia
Detailed Conditions & Forecast
Recent Photos
Gulf of Alaska Storm 111409 NOAA Radar Tornado near Trinity, FL
Sea Gulls Jose Gasparilla
fredwx's Wunder Photos
Previous Entries for 2013
Recommended Links
Personal Weather Stations
Alan Archer Weather just north of Tampa, FL
LUTZ, FL
Elevation: 52 ft
Temperatura: 69.5 °F
Punto di rugiada: 65.1 °F
Umidità: 86%
Vento: 6.0 mph from the SE
Raffiche di vento: 9.0 mph
Updated: 04:48 PM EDT del 20 Maggio 2013
About Personal Weather Stations