Storminess Decides To Get Stormier

Just as I decided things were going to be all right down south of Tampa after all, the storminess west of Jamaica reached out and joined the storminess in the Yucatan, forming a more threatening mass of storminess.

The National Hurricane Center is beginning to get nervous:

AN ELONGATED SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDS FROM THE CENTRAL FLORIDA PENINSULA TO THE NORTHERN YUCATAN PENINSULA ALONG 27N82W TO 21N88W. MARINE AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS REGISTER A SHARP CYCLONIC TURNING ALONG THE TROUGH AXIS WITH SE WINDS ON THE ERN SIDE OF THE AXIS GUSTING TO 25 KT. LAST VISIBLE PICTURES OF THE DAY REVEALED A LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION EMBEDDED IN THE TROUGH AXIS NEAR 25N85W. DOPPLER RADAR IMAGERY INDICATED SCATTERED MODERATE TO HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS S OF 29N E OF 85W INCLUDING THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA. STRONG UPPER-LEVEL WINDS OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY DIMINISH...AND SOME SLOW DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE. THIS SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM CHANCE OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. HEAVY RAINS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS WESTERN CUBA...SOUTHERN FLORIDA...THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS...AND THE YUCATAN PENINSULA THROUGH FRIDAY.

The NOGAPS forecast shows a tropical storm forming and moving towards Panama City, FL: uncomfortably close to Tampa (but not through Tampa) by Friday evening.

So, time to take your eyes off the Caribbean is not now. We’ll see if anything develops……