Rainy season roars in; so how wet will it get?

Some areas top 6 inches in 72 hours; up to 7 more inches possible in spots.

A soggy pinwheel of low pressure in the eastern Gulf of Mexico will continue to funnel moisture into Florida through at least the end of the week, but heavy showers and thunderstorms should be confined to the afternoons.

Tuesday’s official start of the 2018 wet season was heralded by rainfall totals in parts of central and northeastern Palm Beach County as high as 6 inches over a three-day period beginning Saturday afternoon. National Weather Service forecasters in Miami said an additional 7 inches is possible through Monday in isolated areas.

“In terms of impacts, it doesn’t really matter if it gets a name; it’s a rainmaker,” said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist with Weather.com. “It will lead to numerous bouts of showers and thunderstorms as it throws moisture into the Southeast.”

While no rainfall records were broken in Palm Beach County this week, six records were broken Monday on the state’s east coast for rainfall amounts as high as 2.2 inches in Vero Beach, and cool daytime highs as low as 74 degrees in Daytona Beach.

Rain chances in Palm Beach County hover near 60 percent today and tonight, increasing to between 40 percent and 70 percent Thursday. High temperatures are forecast to remain in the mid80s into Friday.

South Florida receives about 36 inches of rain, or 70 percent of its annual rainfall amount, during the wet season, which runs through Oct. 15.

Severe weather Monday included weak tornadoes in Palm Beach, Martin and Brevard counties, but forecasters don’t expect to see a repeat of that over the next few days. The weather service says there are low risks for flooding, hail and wind, but a moderate risk for lightning.