Tropical disturbance could bring more rain to South Florida

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Tropical disturbance could bring even more rain to South Florida

By KEN KAYE
sun-sentinel.com
Posted June 8 2005, 12:42 PM EDT

A tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean, threatening to become the first tropical storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, could bring heavy rains and thunderstorms to South Florida as early as Friday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County said.

Forecasters doubt that the core of the system would approach peninsula Florida because a ridge of high-pressure should keep it moving north toward the Louisiana Gulf Coast or the Panhandle.


Yet, hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said its outer bands could easily soak the state, which already has been doused with thunderstorms and tropical moisture for the past week.

"Most of Florida is on the east side of it, and that's the wet side," Stewart said. "So we certainly could see an increased chance of thunderstorms and heavy rains through the weekend."

An Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft was to investigate the system this afternoon. If it develops into a tropical storm, and climatic conditions are favorable for it do so, it would be named Arlene.

How much rain it might bring to South Florida depends on how fast and how strong it develops, said hurricane specialist Richard Knabb. Most likely, he said, the region would feel its affects over the weekend.

"This doesn't appear to be moving so fast that it will start raining tomorrow," he said.

At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the system was thought to be forming into a tropical depression between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

Guidance models project that it will drift over the western end of Cuba, move into the Gulf of Mexico and approach the upper Gulf Coast by late Saturday or Sunday. Along the way, it was expected to bring heavy rains and gusty winds to the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula over the next two days.

In Florida, in addition to rain, the system could generate strong rip currents along both the east and west coasts of the state.

"Residents living from West Palm Beach to the Keys should closely monitor this system in terms of inclement weather and rip currents," Stewart said.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Forecasters say this year could be just as active as last year's devastating season - but don't expect Florida to get slammed again by four hurricanes.
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