Wednesday’s heavy rain did set a record at Tampa International for daily rainfall.  4.72 inches of rain was record at TIA, and that shattered the previous record of 2.84 inches set back in 1955.  In fact, that rain total put July 1, 2009 as the 6th wettest day in July ever!

With continued moisture and storms coming onshore from the Gulf of Mexico, we will keep our rain chances high today.  The Flood Watch continues through the evening hours.  We could see widespread reports of 1-3 inches of rain today with some isolated areas getting even more.  Because the ground is saturated from the past two days of rain, expect flooded roads and swollen rivers.

The Little Manatee River at Wimauma is above flood stage at this point, and it’s expected to crest Friday morning at 14.5’.  That’s nearly three and a half feet above flood stage.  It should fall back below that flood stage by Saturday afternoon.

High pressure begins to build back into the Bay Area on Friday, so we lower the rain chances.  We continue to bring those rain chances down for July 4th.  We return to a more “typical” summer pattern this weekend.  That means, we’ll see morning sunshine, scattered afternoon storms, and highs in the low 90s.

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