The Fort Myers-Lee County area may see hurricane conditions today as weather progressively worsens into the night hours.
Winds will be blowing offshore around 8 a.m., and conditions will deteriorate into evening hours, according to various forecasts.
“During the day I would describe it as breezy with increasing rain chances,” said Austen Flannery, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, which cover the Fort Myers-Lee County area.
Rain bands will start to work their way onshore around midday, and tropical storm conditions will dominate the coast and some inland areas.
“We’re looking at (tropical storm) conditions (in the) evening, maybe from 6 p.m., along the coastal areas and a little later for inland areas,” Flannery said.
The strongest part of the storm is expected to pass by our region during the night hours.
High tide in Fort Myers Thursday will be at 12:17 a.m. and 8:39 a.m. while low tide will occur at 2:28 a.m. and 6:42 p.m.
Early Thursday morning is expected to be the most dangerous time for coastal Lee County and even downtown Fort Myers, which could receive several feet of storm surge.