Widespread rainfall in Sarasota and Manatee counties could lead to a marginal risk of flooding on Friday with the ground already so saturated .
Rainfall totals are forecasted to be 1.5 inches or less on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms are forecasted to develop by early afternoon and continue into the early evening. River Flood Warnings have been put in effect for the Myakka River at Myakka River State Park and the Horse Creek near Arcadia at State Road 72. Manatee River is on a downward trend of flood risk after closing several roads , as water footage continues to decrease.
Increased moisture and airflow have been pushed into the area by a frontal boundary along the Florida Peninsula, causing showers and thunderstorms from the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service has shared that in addition to the rain received on Wednesday and Thursday, there could be up to 12 inches of rain over the next seven days . National Weather Service forecaster Matt Anderson said that much of that is expected to fall by the end of Friday, as the weather transitions from long, heavy bouts of rain to scattered thunderstorms.