Tampa Bay, Central Florida at risk for severe weather as storms roll in

Tampa Bay meteorologists say the area — alongside much of Central Florida — is under threat of severe weather Wednesday afternoon as a cold front brings thunderstorms through the middle of the state.

Just before noon, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 5 p.m. for 27 Florida counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco.

Forecasters said storms are still approaching from the Gulf of Mexico, but the skies should quiet after that last batch rolls through late afternoon.

The weather service let a tornado watch expire at 11 a.m. after the threat of rotating winds died down. Gusts peaked at about 40 mph Wednesday morning, and no damage was reported, according to meteorologists.

Strong winds on Tuesday afternoon tore carports and roofs from nearly two dozen homes in a Largo mobile home park, with at least seven structures deemed uninhabitable by Largo Fire Rescue.

Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office, said the point of the watch is to allow people plenty of time to be ready for possible severe weather.

“We’re watching radar all day. We have extra staff here monitoring the storms as they move across the area,” he said.

Wind speed is forecast between 15 and 30 mph, but the storms could bring gusts of 70 mph, according to the weather service.

The Tampa Bay area is under a slight risk of severe weather, caused by a cold front moving south across the state that is expected to bring scattered, isolated storms.

This means one neighborhood may see half an inch of rain, while another nearby could be battered repeatedly by multiple rounds of thunderstorms.

“There’s definitely a good amount of moisture in the atmosphere and there’s going to be potential for these storms to move across the same locations multiple times,” Giarratana said.

More than 3 inches of rain in some areas isn’t out of the question, he added. Frequently flooded neighborhoods and urban areas with poor drainage may see some minimal flooding.

The skies above Tampa Bay are expected to clear after 4 p.m., when high temperatures return, Giarratana said.

“After that, drier air starts to come in from the north, and that should bring an end to the risk of storms at that point,” he said.