ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A few isolated showers will pass over Polk county overnight.

Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy with warm, quiet conditions for the rest of the area going into Friday morning. Lows will be in the upper 60s to mid 70s.

The following watches and advisories were issued Thursday:

  • Coastal Flood Watch for Citrus County from late tonight through Friday afternoon
  • Lake Wind Advisory for all inland lakes on Friday
  • Small Craft Advisory from 3 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday for Gulf waters and from 8 a.m. Friday through 1 a.m. Saturday for Tampa Bay waters

A big line of storms is on the way for Friday. Be prepared for strong winds gusts that could produce damage.

There could also be the potential for a tornado, which is something we’ll be analyzing as the storms approach.

The timing is difficult to pin down, since the line is not staying uniform right now. Our latest thinking is that it will come through from late morning to mid afternoon.

Since it will come in from the west, the coastal areas will get the impact first, with Polk County getting it last.

Highs will be early in the day in the upper 70s to low 80s. Then temperatures will drop immediately as the rain moves in.

Winds will be very gusty, first from the south, then from the west as the rain moves in. They will be in the 20 to 30 mph range, then gust into the 40 to 50 mph range as the line of storms moves in.

There will be some isolated higher gusts that could possibly do damage.

The rain will exit with a partly cloudy Friday night and lows 50s to low 60s.

Saturday will be windy, with variably cloudy skies and scattered showers coming in from the Gulf of Mexico due to the cooler air rushing in from the northwest.

Highs will only be near 70. The showers will exit in the afternoon, with drier air moving in for the evening.

Sunday morning will be cool, with lows in the 40s and 50s. But the afternoon will be delightful, with sunny skies and highs in the mid to upper 70s.

Coastal impacts:

Boating will be dangerous the next couple days with strong winds and high seas. A small Craft Advisory is in effect.

Swimming and beach conditions will not be good with some coastal flooding and tides running 1 to 3 feet above normal, a high surf advisory, and dangerous rip currents.

7-day forecast

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