TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay residents planning outdoor activities for Memorial Day weekend will need to keep an eye on the sky, as the National Weather Service forecasts a pattern of high heat and daily afternoon thunderstorms.
The holiday weekend starts today with mostly sunny skies turning partly sunny later in the day. Temperatures are expected to climb to a high near 93 degrees, with heat index values pushing the heat to a feel-like temperature of 98 degrees. Light winds will shift to the southeast at around 6 mph in the morning. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are projected to develop after 2 p.m., carrying a 40% chance of rain.
The threat of rain increases into tonight, with showers and thunderstorms likely before 1 a.m. Forecasters place the chance of precipitation at 60%, with new rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. The overnight low will drop to around 74 degrees under partly cloudy skies…