Melbourne Beach FL Gust Front Night Timelapse Video

Earlier tonight I drove up from South Florida to intercept a line of strong to low-end severe thunderstorms racing eastward. The convective complex moved onshore the west coast of Florida in the late afternoon hours just north of Tampa, and continued eastward into central Florida and the Space Coast by early evening.

I setup to shoot a timelapse of the line of storms moving offshore, and once I arrived in Melbourne Beach, I decided turn back west and frame up my shot overlooking the 192 causeway bridge. The bulk of the intense thunderstorm line tracked just to my north, and sent a strong gusty outflow boundary through my location. In the timelapse video you can see the gust front moving in from the northwest and the wind shift on the water surface.

It was a quick up the coast chase for me, and I'll take it for late February storm action.

Severe Storms Pushing Through Florida Panhandle

Doppler Radar showing line of severe storms moving through Pensacola, FL.

A line of severe thunderstorms is currently tracking over the greater Pensacola region and western Florida panhandle. Several severe thunderstorm warnings and a tornado warning have been active for Escambia County, FL during the last hour, as the line of intense storms tracks eastward. 

The Florida panhandle will experience strong storms overnight as this line continues east towards Tallahassee. Tornado Watches remain valid through until 9:00pm local, and could be expanded further east later tonight.

Tomorrow the severe weather will shift east and south into north-central Florida, with possible isolated strong storms as far south as Orlando in the afternoon.

Update: 2/19/12 / 9am - Storms overnight have weakened due to the lack of surface convergence. This looks to continue throughout the day as winds remain gusty from the southwest limiting thunderstorm development. A few showers and maybe a storm will pass with the cold front later this afternoon before turning cooler tonight.

Rain and Storm Chances Increasing For The Weekend

Cloudy Miami waterfront as rain chances increase over the President's Day weekend.

The long holiday weekend is shaping up to be a mix of clouds and warm temperatures, with an increase in shower and thunderstorm chances into Sunday. Actually, it's sounds like a great weekend to me after so many weeks of dull weather patterns for Florida. I know the storm system forecast to move in from the Gulf of Mexico will ruin some peoples outdoor plans, but we really could use the rain, and I could use a few nice storms to chase.

South-southwest winds will increase humidity levels and afternoon temps both Saturday and Sunday well into the 80's, with possible heavy showers and isolated storms developing. Sunday looks to be the best day for thunderstorms to develop (possibly some severe) as another frontal boundary tracks into the state from the northwest. 

Once the front moves through late Sunday into Monday, there will be another cool down for several days back to near normal for this time of year. I just hope before the drier and cooler weather returns, I can get in some possible storm photography action and even maybe some lightning storm timelapses - I can only hope during these late weeks of the winter dry season.

Check back after the weekend to see if mother nature was kind to me with some storm structure eye-candy and rainfall for our very low canals. Have a great weekend!

Isolated Storms Possible & West Palm Beach Flooding

Florida Skies Will Be Stormy Today

Today feels more like a March afternoon than early February. There is a small risk of isolated severe storms across central and southern Florida this afternoon. Several boundaries are helping to enhance thunderstorm chances today, along with an increase in moisture flowing northward out of the Caribbean. Upper-level winds could also aid in some of the storms becoming severe with straight-line winds and maybe a weak isolated tornado along the east coast.

West Palm Beach Street Flooding This Morning

Parts of downtown West Palm Beach received several inches of rain over a short period of time earlier today, producing street flooding along Flagler Drive and other downtown locations. Numerous pictures were circulating around Instagram and Twitter of cars stranded in deep street flooding around the lunch hour. The heavy rainfall has now moved offshore, but more storms are forecast to develop late this afternoon and could bring more heavy rain to metro South Florida.