Getting warmer with a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - After a glorious first week of May, with low humidity and low temperatures, now we start to warm up, back to average temps in the upper 80s and dew points back into the 60s. Welcome back to Florida weather! We even have a chance of a few thunderstorms Saturday, mainly well east of I-75, in the heat of the afternoon. Rain chances are lower Sunday through Wednesday, then we’re tracking a small storm in the upper atmosphere that moves over Florida starting Thursday. Rain chances are higher to end the week, but they will be scattered hit-and-miss type of afternoon storms.

We have some smoke and ozone in the air. There are fires in southern Florida and farther west to Texas and Mexico. The smoke is mainly in upper layers of the atmosphere and may enhance the reds of sunrise and sunset. High pressure and light winds over Florida are also keeping our air from moving very much, so ozone levels have been elevated for parts of the Suncoast. It’s mainly a concern for people with difficulty breathing or sensitive lungs.

Red Tide levels are low to very low for our Suncoast beaches, ‚so respiratory irritation is at a minimum from that source. It’s a nice beach weekend, just be on the lookout for an isolated afternoon thunderstorm.