Warmer weather returns to Tampa Bay for Thanksgiving week, forecasters say

A cool, cloudy and drizzly weekend brought the Tampa Bay region a brief glimpse of traditional fall weather. But after a cool respite of highs that only reached the low 60s, Monday morning’s temperatures melted away any dreams of ruddy cheeks and woolen sweaters around the Thanksgiving table.

Temperatures began climbing early on Monday, with highs nearing 80 degrees by mid-afternoon. It didn’t feel like a cool, blustery day, but it certainly looked like one, with lingering clouds blanketing the region and scattered showers. Some sporadic breezes blowing in from the northeast even led the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office to post a small craft advisory for area waters.

“Those clouds have kept it cool, but those clouds at night work like a blanket so it’s going to keep things on the warmer side through the night and it’s not going to get a whole lot colder,” said Austen Flannery, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Tampa Bay office.

Tuesday was expected to bring much of the same, with highs back in the mid-70s and light, scattered showers and thunderstorms forecast from the late afternoon into the evening. According to projections from the weather service, rain chances inch up to around 60% close to sunset.

Lows this week are expected to range from the upper 50s in northern parts of the region to the lower 70s in the south.

The good news, Flannery said, is that the region should begin drying out on Thursday, creating conditions “that should be pretty nice for Thanksgiving,” he said. High temperatures on Thursday are expected to be back in the 80s.

Rain chances drop to 30% on Wednesday and just 20% by Thursday’s Thanksgiving morning. Though by Friday, the weather service warned, an upper-level disturbance could increase the chance of showers and usher in drier, cool air for next week.