JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The same weather pattern that prompted downpours Monday afternoon that flooded streets and intersections across northeast Florida is expected to bring more of the same on Tuesday.
More bands of heavy downpours are likely in the afternoon and evening hours, and some could contain severe storms with excessive lightning, gusty winds and possible waterspouts.
Last week we talked about the possibility of a very rainy first day back to school for the kids, and sure enough 2 to 4 inches of rain fell Monday afternoon. In many locations it happened like a "cloud burst," dumping all that in under an hour!
How did I know last week that today would be so bad? The jet stream with cooler air is parked just to the north of Jacksonville, but we still have deep tropical moisture coming in from the south. These upper winds (jet stream) are coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, and this is just pushing rain right back over us.
And this pattern is locked-in for another 36 hours, so we're in for at least another day and a half of some intense downpours. The good news? It's not likely we'll see a repeat of what we saw Monday afternoon, but we could still easily pick up 2 to 5 inches of rain.
Keep the umbrellas handy and keep your plans kind of loose in case the rains interfere.
The outlook beyond Wednesday is for drier, sunnier, hotter temperatures this weekend. It will be August-like as daytime highs reach 90 under sunny skies.
Next week, will be again be busy because the tropics could become active with the system that may become Isaac by Friday.