Storms lead into 'unusually hot weather' on Treasure Coast for weekend, more rain chances

Corey Arwood, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·2 min read

After some heavy rain, lighting and wind in spots Wednesday on the Treasure Coast, “unusually hot weather” is forecast to continue with heat index "feels like" temperatures expected to approach 110 into the weekend.

The storms Wednesday brought standing water and some near-impassable roads beachside in Vero Beach along Ocean Drive and near Humiston Beach Park, where rain poured for about an hour. Downtown Vero Beach on the mainland and west toward I-95 had brief heavy rain.

Ocean Drive near the entrance to Humiston Beach Park in Vero Beach accumulated standing water after about an hour of rain the afternoon of May 15, 2024.
Ocean Drive near the entrance to Humiston Beach Park in Vero Beach accumulated standing water after about an hour of rain the afternoon of May 15, 2024.

The storms preceded a cold front of sorts, which a meteorologist said would bring only a slightly elevated chance of rain and have little effect on hot temperatures through Friday.

“Into (the) weekend, it looks a little drier,” said Melissa Watson with the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Melbourne.

Chances of thunderstorms and rain were highest Wednesday with forecasts showing a decline Thursday to between 30% and 50%. Friday, sunny conditions are expected with just a 20% chance of rain.

Palm tree branches sway in the wind as a weather front approaches along Seaway Drive by Pelican Yacht Club on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Fort Pierce.
Palm tree branches sway in the wind as a weather front approaches along Seaway Drive by Pelican Yacht Club on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Fort Pierce.

By the weekend though, storm chances are up to 40% Saturday and 60% Sunday.

Temperatures begin increasing from low to mid 90s up to 95 in some areas including Fort Pierce Saturday, with lows in the low to mid 70s. Highs were a few degrees lower for Martin County.

Watson said by Friday into Saturday it could "feel like" 100 to 108 degrees.

She said temperatures in areas across the Treasure Coast where the agency keeps weather record data such as Vero Beach and Fort Pierce were forecast below record heat of 96 to 98 degree highs, but it was “very possible” heat records could be matched or broken.

It is “a spell of unusually hot weather, for mid-May…,” she said.

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Storms followed by increasing temps, rain chances into weekend