Though a strong line of thunderstorms that formed along the sea breeze Wednesday afternoon looked powerful, damage reports were minimal compared to Tuesday's storms.
Those storms toppled trees and knocked out power to thousands in the Bay area Tuesday afternoon. "Wednesday's storms erupted earlier than they did Tuesday," Linker said, "so that helped to limit the severity, but the storms were still intense."As the storms built earlier in the afternoon, the sea breeze moved through before the evening commute really began."
PHOTO CONTEST: The Top 8 storm photos from Wednesday: GALLERY
The sea breeze organized from Manatee County through Pasco County, with scattered storms seen throughout the Bay area counties, Bay News 9 Meteorologist Josh Linker said. "These storms had the possibility of bringing 60 mph wind gusts in some areas," he added.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has expired for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties, and an Urban Flood Advisory for NW Hillsborough, SW Pasco, and Pinellas Counties has expired, as well.
There is a 60 percent chance of rain for any given location in the viewing area.
Bay area residents woke up to calm conditions earlier Wednesday, but afternoon heat and sea breeze have pulled in significant moisture that's present over the Gulf of Mexico. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area and some parts of southwest Florida were getting rain early Wednesday, as well, and Clay said that's an indication the Bay area could get more rain later.
"When we see morning thunderstorms in south Florida or on the east coast, that's a very good sign we're going to see afternoon storms around here," Linker said.
Linker said the pattern is with us for the long haul, as he doesn't see any changes in the current weather pattern for the next five to seven days.
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