Marble-sized hail and gusty thunderstorms are lining up on Wednesday for a run at Central West Florida, with forecasters calling for pockets of half-inch hail and wind gusts up to 40 mph. Storm cells are expected to pop quickly along sea-breeze boundaries, then unleash short bursts of heavy rain and frequent lightning, with the greatest risk pegged for the late-afternoon into the evening commute.
Radar-indicated Special Weather Statements from the National Weather Service in Ruskin flagged storms that could feature roughly 0.50-inch hail and wind gusts near 40 mph. National Weather Service Tampa Bay office forecasters said the strongest cells’ outflow winds “could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects,” and they highlighted Pinellas County communities including Clearwater, Largo and downtown St. Petersburg in the immediate path. The statement logged “MAX HAIL SIZE…0.50 IN” and “MAX WIND GUST…40 MPH” for the tracked cell…