TAMPA, Fla. – Wednesday afternoon brings mostly sunny skies and hot weather to the Tampa Bay area, with temperatures climbing toward a high of 95 degrees. It will feel noticeably hotter outside, however, as heat index values are expected to peak near 103 degrees.
Southwest winds are currently blowing at about 11 mph, carrying occasional gusts as strong as 20 mph. Skies will turn partly cloudy tonight as the thermometer drops to around 77 degrees, with a west-southwest wind of 5 to 7 mph shifting to the south after midnight.
The region will see even higher temperatures on Thursday. The daytime high is projected to reach 96 degrees, pushing heat index values up to a blistering 106 degrees. While the day remains mostly sunny, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms popping up after 1 p.m. South-southwest winds will hover between 6 and 11 mph, with potential gusts hitting 18 mph. Thursday night brings partly cloudy conditions and a low of 77 degrees, with southwest winds of 5 to 8 mph falling calm by evening.
The weather stays hot for the Juneteenth holiday on Friday. Forecasters project a high near 94 degrees under mostly sunny skies, accompanied by south winds at 5 to 11 mph that veer west later in the day. A 20 percent chance of rain and storms develops after 2 p.m., alongside gusts up to 18 mph. By Friday night, the chance of precipitation drops to 10 percent before 8 p.m. Skies will stay partly cloudy overnight with a low near 76 degrees as west winds of 5 to 7 mph become calm…