Weather and Storm Tracking

Florida has a landscape ripe for thunderstorm development. According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Florida averages just over 70 thunderstorms days per year. Some areas of the Gulf Coast can even get up to 100.

Strong storms are possible Thursday and Friday over the Panhandle and North Florida. In addition to damaging winds, local flooding will be possible.

Since 1995, rip currents have killed more than 300 people in Florida. Rip current deaths often go unreported, but this weather phenomena can be just as deadly as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning or flooding.“I don’t think people understand how deadly it is,” said Amy Godsey, Chief Meteorologist for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, “every year we have 30 to 35 fatalities just from rip currents. In a typical year that’s more than any other weather hazard.”

Often considered the country’s lightning capital, Florida experienced 285 lightning events per square mile in 2022. It’s a common hazard, especially following sea breeze storms typical during summer months.“It’s one of those hazards that just about everyone experiences,” said John Jensenius, Lightning Safety Specialist with the National Lightning Safety Council.

An approaching squall line has prompted a Tornado Watch for Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties until 5 AM CST Wednesday.

A cold front will bring the risk of strong storms, which could be capable of producing wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and tornadoes.

A frontal boundary over the central Peninsula on Saturday morning will slowly shift north during the day and cause widespread rain across parts of central and northern Florida in the afternoon. A cold front will then track across the Panhandle and north-central Florida on Sunday causing more rounds of rain and possibly some isolated severe storms.

A Wind Chill Advisory has already been issued for portions of Central and Southern Florida, where "feels like" temperatures could fall to the upper 20s and low 30s on Saturday morning.

Wind gusts over 40 mph are possible over parts of the Panhandle today

Out of all 50 states, Florida ranked first in damages with $116 billion attributed to the Sunshine State alone. It’s also the most expensive year for Florida in the 42-year history of the billion-dollar disaster report. Florida is the second-leading state in total costs across all years, behind Texas.