ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Scattered storms have started later the past couple of days, resulting in very heavy storms into the late night hours.

They will slowly wind down again Thursday night, but before they do, some areas will receive very heavy rains and intense lightning.

  • More hot days
  • Fewer storms this weekend
  • Slight change next week

The skies will slowly clear into sunrise Friday morning.

Lows will be in the low to mid 70s, except for upper 70s near the coast.

Friday will start with mostly sunny skies followed by building clouds in the afternoon. The storms will start a little earlier, mainly in the late afternoon to evening. They will all have a westward movement toward the Gulf of Mexico at night.

The coverage will be at about 30 percent when all is done. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s again before the storms begin.

Once the storms move out, the lows will drop to the low to mid 70s inland and upper 70s near the coast.

Slightly drier air will move into our upper atmosphere this weekend. It will not change our high humidity on the ground, but it will decrease our rain chance due to the drier air above.

As a result, expect only an isolated chance of a late afternoon to evening storm on Saturday. The coverage will be at about 10 to 20 percent. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s.

The storms that do form will move west toward the gulf in the evening.

That will be the case into Sunday also, with basically the same type of pattern.

Monday into Tuesday will feature a batch of moisture coming in from the Atlantic, resulting in a higher chance of passing showers and storms those two days.

Behind that batch of moisture will be much drier air that will cut our rain chance way down and will probably even lower humidity, which will be a very welcome change.

The winds will also go breezier from the east next week, which will make it feel slightly more comfortable at that time.

7-day forecast 

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