Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management MeteorologyFriday, April 26, 2024
...Warm and Dry Conditions Persist Statewide as High Pressure Builds...Isolated Showers Possible Along the I-10 Corridor, Northeast Florida, Southeast Coast, and Keys...Senstive to Locally Elevated Wildfire Conditions Across Portions of the Peninsula this Afternoon; Red Flag Warnings Cannot Be Ruled Out in Emerging Drought Areas...Breezy Winds With Gusts Near 20-25 MPH Expected; Locally Stronger Gusts Up to 30 MPH Possible Along Northeast and Southeast Florida...High Risk for Rip Currents Along East Coast; Moderate Risk for Northeast Coast and Panhandle Beaches..Minor to Moderate Riverine Flooding Continues for Several Big Bend and Suwannee Valley Rivers...
Updated at 9:06 AM EDT
Today's Threats:
| No Threat | Low Threat | Medium Threat | High Threat |
| Lightning | Tornado | Damaging Wind | Hail | Fog (Overnight) | Wildfire | River Flooding | Rip Currents |
|
|
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Locally N, Central, & SW Peninsula |
Suwannee River Valley Big Bend |
E-Coast Panhandle & NE Coast West Coast |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
High pressure will continue to build along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard today, allowing sunny to mostly sunny skies to persist (near 0-10% chance of rain). A few isolated showers will be possible along the I-10 corridor, Northeastern Peninsula, Southeast Coast, and Keys as a stalled frontal boundary lingers near the Florida-Georgia line and sea breezes develop along the Florida Atlantic Coast where elevated moisture is present. Abundant sunshine will give way to warm conditions with high temperatures rising into the 80s to low 90s statewide with upper 70s possible along the Florida Panhandle and East Coastlines thanks to sea breezes.
Dry air will continue to linger across portions of North, Central, and Southwest Florida, allowing relative humidity values to fall below critical thresholds (30-45%) this afternoon and creating sensitive to locally elevated wildfire conditions. Red Flag Warnings are not anticipated but cannot be ruled out along portions of interior Central Florida that have seen a lack of substantial rainfall persist across the area and are experiencing abnormally dry (emerging drought) conditions. Winds will strengthen today and remain breezy this weekend as a low-pressure system over the Central U.S. pushes up against the area of high pressure to the east. Wind gusts near 20-25 mph are anticipated nearly statewide this afternoon with locally stronger gusts up to 30 mph along Northeast and Southeast Florida.
Partly cloudy skies and a few isolated showers along the I-10 corridor, Northeastern Peninsula, and Keys can be expected through the overnight hours (near 0-15% chance of rain). Low temperatures will fall into the middle to upper 60s across North and Central Florida and upper 60s to middle 70s across South Florida and the Keys overnight. Breezy winds will likely prevent fog development overnight and early Saturday morning despite returning moisture.
Rip Currents: Strengthening onshore winds will create a high risk for rip currents along the East Coast this afternoon with a locally moderate risk along the Northeast Coast. Several Florida Panhandle beaches will continue to see a moderate risk for rip currents today with a low risk persisting elsewhere. All East Coast and Florida Panhandle beaches will likely see rip currents increase to a high risk tonight and Saturday morning as winds continue to strengthen. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Breezy winds will begin to rebuild ocean swells in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic today, raising wave heights to 3-5’ along the Florida Atlantic Coast and 1-3’ elsewhere.
Red Tide has not been observed at or above background levels over the past week.
Coastal Flooding: Coastal flooding is not expected today; however, breezy easterly to southeasterly winds may lead to elevated water levels (0.25-0.75’ above normal) at times of high tide along the vulnerable Forgotten Coast, primarily near Apalachicola.
Fire Weather: Easterly to southeasterly winds will allow for moisture to slowly recover statewide over the next few days; however, high pressure building along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard will continue to allow dry air to settle in across the interior Peninsula. Relative humidity values will fall near or below critical thresholds (30-45%) along portions of North, Central, and Southwest Florida this afternoon, creating sensitive to locally elevated wildfire conditions. Red Flag Warnings are not anticipated but cannot be ruled out along portions of interior Central Florida that have seen a lack of substantial rainfall persist across the area and are experiencing abnormally dry (emerging drought) conditions. Winds will strengthen today as a frontal system over the Central U.S. pushes up against the area of high pressure to the east. Wind gusts near 20-25 mph are anticipated nearly statewide this afternoon with locally stronger gusts up to 30 mph along Northeast and Southeast Florida. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 35 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 601 acres.
Drought: High pressure has yielded dry conditions and above normal temperatures nearly statewide over the last week, leading to deteriorating soil moisture and streamflow conditions. Abnormally dry (emerging drought) conditions have expanded along portions of the Central and Southern Peninsula on this week’s drought monitor update and now stretch from the coast to the coast south of I-4 and north of I-75, surrounding and north of Lake Okeechobee. 60-day rainfall deficits have reached 4-6” below normal along eastern portions of Central and South Florida, east and northeast of Lake Okeechobee, with isolated pockets of 6-8” below normal. North and northwest of Lake Okeechobee to the West Coast, 60-day rainfall deficits have reached 2-4” below normal. Little to no rainfall expected across the region over the next week may exacerbate drought conditions.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 279 (+12) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are two Florida counties (Indian River and St. Lucie) with an average KBDI over 500 (drought/increased fire danger).
Flash Flooding: There is no risk of flash flooding today.
Riverine Flooding: River Flood Warnings remain in effect for several rivers and waterways along the Big Bend and Suwannee Valley. Moderate river flooding continues for the Santa Fe River at Three Rivers Estates as water levels have crested and are beginning to fall. The Aucilla River at Lamont , Santa Fe River near Hildreth, and portions of the Suwannee River (at Luraville, at Branford, at Rock Bluff near Bell) remain within minor flood stage and are forecast to fall below flood stage this weekend and early next week. Additional forecast points along the Suwannee River (near Wilcox and at Manatee Springs) continue to see minor riverine flooding as water flows downstream through the river basin. Dry conditions over the next few days will help to allow elevated water levels to crest and slowly decline. No additional riverine flooding is expected and there are no other riverine concerns at this time. For more details, please visit the River Forecast Center.
Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 14.44 feet, which is within the operational band and 0.70 feet above normal for this time of year.
