Fall Weather — Courtesy: Image by Maridav from Shutterstock
TAMPA, FL. — Drier air is on its way to Florida, north Florida specifically.
As the weekend nears, a cold front is making its way towards the Sunshine State. However, a cool down isn’t in the cards for the Bay Area. As rain chances start to decrease it will, unfortunately, remain warm down south. That drier air will lower high temperatures in the Panhandle and northern Florida, but it will not bring that fall-like weather for the rest of us throughout the Sunshine State.
National Weather Service meteorologists in Miami called it “their first autumn cold front” that will hit the Pandhandle before slowing down near Orlando, potentially drifting into the Keys by early Monday morning. Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather meteorologist, believes the front will only make it to Gainesville before it fizzles.
“Once the cool front hits the Gulf of Mexico and the heat from the Atlantic Ocean, it will lose its punch,” Buckingham said.
“As this front slowly starts to move further south, it’ll get a little bit nicer for us, meaning we’ll start to lower these rain chances and kind of dry out a little bit,” explained Tampa Bay meteorologist Dave Osterberg. “The reverse side of that is it’s still going to be hot though. So while we try to lower the humidity a little bit, it’s going to stay up near 90. You’re trading one for the other.”
Osterberg suggested that those looking for their first taste of fall should head upstate.
“I wish I could tell you we’re going to bring in fall-like air, that’s not going to happen. However, if you really need it: Tallahassee, Pensacola, definitely southern Georgia. Folks, it’s going to be beautiful there this weekend as this front comes through,” he stated.
The first day of fall is today, Wednesday, Sept. 22. Temperatures in the 70s and 80s were consistent throughout the Sunshine State. Drier air will pass the Florida-Alabama line closer to the weekend.
“It’s going to be beautiful in the Panhandle, but for us, it drops a little bit, but not that much,” Osterberg said. “Don’t get too excited about this front coming into the area because this is not our big fall cold front. We’re going to go from humid to a little less humid. That’s really about it, folks.”
“We’re not into the drier stuff yet. We’re not getting that first big fall front which is going to make it feel…no, not going to happen,” he continued. “Not this time around.”
Just this past Sunday and Monday, up to 2 inches of snow fell in the higher elevations of Rocky Mountain National Park as the storm system passed through, pulled by a low-pressure area over the Great Lakes on Tuesday. Yellowstone National Park and areas farther west, including Mount Rainier and Mount Hood, also got some snow.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
