South Florida residents can expect another stretch of steamy conditions this week, with temperatures climbing into the low 90s and heat indexes pushing past 100 degrees as humidity remains high.
Spotty showers and a few isolated thunderstorms moved through parts of the region early Thursday, according to local forecasts. Skies should turn mostly sunny for much of the day, accompanied by an east breeze of 10 to 15 mph and occasional gusts near 20 mph.Beachgoers face only a slight chance of rip currents along the Atlantic shore.
Boaters on the Atlantic and in the Florida Keys will find no weather alerts or advisories in place for the time being.
Friday brings a noticeable uptick in rain chances. Scattered showers and some thunderstorms are expected as moisture levels begin to climb across Miami-Dade, Broward and surrounding counties.
High temperatures on Friday will again reach the low 90s, and the combination of heat and humidity will make it feel like the triple digits for many people outdoors.
The weekend looks even wetter. An approaching tropical wave is forecast to deliver additional tropical moisture that will raise the odds of more widespread showers and thunderstorms, particularly along the east coast metro areas.
Winds are expected to shift out of the west over the weekend. That change in direction should help steer storms toward the denser population centers from Miami through Fort Lauderdale and beyond.
Temperatures could edge a bit higher as well, approaching the mid-90s in some spots. The added tropical moisture will keep humidity elevated, so heat indexes are likely to remain in the 100s.
Conditions should stay unsettled into Monday. Tropical moisture is expected to linger, keeping rain chances elevated through the start of the new workweek.
Meanwhile, meteorologists are also monitoring Tropical Storm Bertha far to the west. The system is tracking near the Louisiana coast and is under a tropical storm warning from the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish line in Louisiana to Sargent, Texas.
Bertha’s center is projected to move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts through Thursday afternoon before pushing farther inland into Texas by Thursday evening and overnight. The storm is expected to weaken into a tropical depression later Thursday night or early Friday.
Local weather teams note that Bertha poses no direct threat to South Florida. The primary local concern remains the tropical wave and the increased shower and storm activity it will bring closer to home.
Residents are advised to stay hydrated, limit prolonged outdoor exposure during the peak heat of the afternoon, and keep an eye on the sky as weekend storm chances rise. Flash flooding is always possible with heavy tropical downpours, especially in urban areas with poor drainage.
Miami weather team continues to update forecasts throughout the day as the tropical wave approaches and moisture levels increase across the region.
