It’s not every (any) day that a meteorologist must discuss the possibility of snow flurries for the Tampa Bay Area. This is that once – maybe in a generation – time. And the chance is ramping up! Here’s why.
A piece of the Polar Vortex is breaking off and being forced south by abnormally warm (relative) air and blocking in the Arctic, into the Southeast US.
That polar vortex chunk will interact with the warm Gulf Stream waters and the resultant low pressure will “bomb out”, which essentially means it will rapidly intensify. In fact it will exceed the criteria for a bomb cyclone by 1.5X. The result: a blizzard along the Carolina Coast.
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For Florida that will drive down an airmass that is as cold, if not colder, than any airmass we have seen in decades.
Temperatures will Tumble on Saturday as winds gust 40-50 mph, making Gasparilla celebrations Saturday very challenging.
As a result, temperatures will tumble Saturday with wind chills reaching the 30s late in the day. By Sunday, morning lows will range from 35 on the coast to as low as 20 inland. Wind chills will be in the teens and 20s, with some readings in N Florida dipping below 10.
For many — away from the coast — this will be the coldest it has been since 2010. Coastal locations will remain milder due to onshore Gulf flow.
When very cold air travels over “relatively warm” water often times you get clouds and rain to form. This time it will be cold enough for “Gulf Effect Snow”, a distant cousin of Lake Effect Snow. they work the same way…