Gasparilla weather: Chilly morning leads to quick warmup

Saturday morning temperatures in Tampa will be cold enough to keep that frock coat handy but will warm to the point that paradegoers can start shedding those pirate layers.

It’ll be a chilly, sunny morning along the Gasparilla parade route Saturday, but by the time revelers begin to flock to Bayshore, temperatures will warm up rapidly from a weak warm front.

Saturday’s lows in Tampa will be in the upper 40s but by 9 a.m. temperatures will reach the the mid 50s, according to Stephen Shiveley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office. When the parade starts at around 2 p.m., temperatures will be in the low 70s.

The morning will be sunny, but by the afternoon skies will be mostly cloudy, Shiveley said. Rain is not in the forecast but Shiveley did warn of some gusty winds in the morning. Shiveley said he wouldn’t be surprised if wind gusts reach about 20 mph. Waters will be choppy for the Jose Gasparilla, a pirate ship that will lead hundreds of private and police boats to the south end of Hillsborough Bay.

“But as the afternoon progresses, when the winds should be calming down, temperatures should actually warm up pretty quickly,” Shiveley said.

The breezy weather in the morning will keep sea levels slightly elevated but the small craft advisory that was put in place Friday won’t be in effect for Saturday, said Kyle Hanson, a meteorologist with Bay News 9.

For those wanting to keep the party going past parade hours, temperatures will dip only slightly to about 68 degrees at 7 p.m. and down to the mid-60s by 10 p.m.

“It’ll be good weather for rocking the pirate costumes,” Hanson said. “As long as they can bear the chill in the morning.”