ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A cold front, currently moving through the lower Mississippi Valley, is forecast to sweep through Florida on Friday and bring with it showers and thunderstorms. It's a similar forecast to last week, but rest assured: Although a decent shot of rain is on the way, the overall risk of severe weather this time around is low.
It's not out of the question that one or two storms could be on the stronger side. The Storm Prediction Center placed all of Tampa Bay and much of the peninsula under a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms.
Consider it a one-out-of-five risk, a low chance. For comparison, parts of the state last week were under an enhanced, or three-out-of-five, risk.
The main American weather model, the GFS, depicts an area of rain and storms moving in during the early afternoon Friday. Another model, the NAM, brings in a line during a similar time.
Expect rain to begin during the late morning along the Nature Coast, with greater chances as the day goes on into Tampa Bay and locations southward.
It's going into this part of the day that any thunderstorm could tap into increasing heat and humidity, but not all of the ingredients will be there for widespread severe weather. If any storms do get a little strong the primary risk of damage would be from some stronger winds.
By Friday evening the storms will taper off as the cold front continues to push to the southeast.
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