Advertisement

Rain pours in and cools off Tampa Bay. But how long will it last?

Temperatures dropped to the low to mid-60s and won’t get past the low 70s Thursday.
 
A puddle of rainwater forms on Gulf Way at Pass-a-Grille beach Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to remain cool through Thursday, then start warming Friday before another cold front comes next week.
A puddle of rainwater forms on Gulf Way at Pass-a-Grille beach Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to remain cool through Thursday, then start warming Friday before another cold front comes next week. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
Published April 16, 2020|Updated April 16, 2020

Yes, you can finally get a break from the central air.

After a scorching hot Easter with a record-breaking high of 91 degrees on Sunday, Tampa Bay is enjoying much cooler weather.

Related: Holy hot: Florida avoids severe weather but has a scorching Easter Sunday

And it’s all thanks to the much-needed rain that poured into Tampa Bay on Wednesday and continued Thursday.

A cold front to the south has now moved away from the area, but it brought clouds and wide swaths of showers and thunderstorms north of it, said Richard Rude, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Tampa Bay.

It may have seemed like a lot of rain in some areas, but it wasn’t enough to raise any concerns, Rude said.

“We’re not anticipating any flooding. We’ve seen about a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain.”

Still, that’s enough to open the windows.

Temperatures dropped to the low to mid-60s. Don’t expect it to get past the low 70s today.

“It’s going to cool us down briefly and we’ll look at some drier air for the next day or so,” Rude said.

“So it will feel more comfortable."

Forecasters expect temperatures to warm up again to the mid-80s beginning Friday and into the weekend, with a chance of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Sunday might stay relatively dry across the Tampa Bay area until Monday, when another front is expected to bring more rain and thunderstorms, Rude said.

He expects the rain to leave the area by Tuesday afternoon.