Weekend Weather: What to Expect

Tampa Bay area residents will want to keep umbrellas handy as the weekend gets under way.

The National Weather Service’s forecast for the weekend shows a normal summertime pattern, which means a little rain may fall – every day.

The weekend kicks off with a high in the low to mid-90s in most parts of the Bay area on Friday. Storm chances are set at 40 percent during the daytime hours and drop to about 30 percent overnight.

Saturday is a near repeat of Friday, but storm chances do climb to about 40 percent in the overnight hours. Forecasters anticipate a high around 90 and a greater likelihood for storms in the afternoon hours.

Sunday kicks off with a 50 percent chance of storms in the afternoon hours with a 30 percent chance in the overnight hours. The high that day should also reach 90 degrees in most parts of the region.

Storm chances linger into the start of the workweek, but they drop down to about 20 percent Monday.

While the scattered thunderstorms anticipated this weekend are commonplace this time of year, forecasters warn they’re nothing to take lightly.

“Thunderstorms that develop will be capable of producing strong, gusty winds, small hail, locally heavy rains and frequent, deadly lighting strikes,” forecasters warned in the agency’s Hazardous Weather Outlook report on Friday.

On the upside, the National Hurricane Center reports no tropical cyclone activity is anticipated during the next 48 hours. The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season got its official start on Monday.

For a complete look at Tampa Bay area weather, visit the National Weather Service online.

Patch file photo