Windy, rainy weather coming to Florida coasts
It’s cool, then it’s warm, it’s rainy then it’s not, Florida’s December weather has been all over the map. Now it’s about to get really windy.
And then rainy again.
Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida are under a wind advisory until Saturday morning, with warnings of northeast winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph on the coast and a high risk of dangerous rip currents. The National Weather Service warns that gusty winds could “blow around unsecured objects,” tree limbs could be knocked down and we could see some power outages.
The blustery winds sweeping across Florida is coming from a stationary front over the Florida Straits that’s moving northward into South Florida, coupled with high pressure moving eastward over the Southeastern United States.
Meanwhile, a low-pressure front is expected to form over the central Gulf of Mexico and move northeast.
According to the National Weather Service, there is currently rough, choppy surf and a moderate risk of dangerous rip currents from Flagler Beach south, which will get worse toward the end of the week.
“Coastal hazards increase into lateweek with hazardous surf (strong rip currents and large breaking waves), as well the potential for minor coastal flooding and beach erosion due to building surf and higher than normal high tides,” said NWS meteorologist Jole Fehling.
Rain across portions of central and South Florida started Tuesday evening and will extend into the weekend. By Thursday, the potential for heavy rainfall across South Florida is expected to develop, expanding to possibly drench most of east central Florida on Saturday, Fehling said. Rainfall amounts up to 5 inches are possible over South Florida’s east coast metro areas, the NWS said.
According to AccuWeather, Florida should see “stiff east-to-northeast winds averaging 15-25 mph with gusts from 30-40 mph likely along the Gulf coast, and especially along Florida’s Atlantic coast, spanning several days from Wednesday to Saturday.”
On the Beaufort scale, which measures windspeeds and damage effects, 30-40 mpg gusts are considered “near gale,” putting “whole trees in motion” and difficulty in walking against the wind. Structural damage isn’t expected until winds get up to 4754 mph. You may want to take care of small loose items in the yard.