Two people have drowned in Florida amid days of heavy rain, damaging winds and “extremely rough” ocean conditions, according to local officials.
Heavy downpours could be seen along central Florida and its Gulf Coast on Saturday, including in Tampa and Largo. Video from Clearwater showed choppy waters as storms passed through the area.
In Cocoa Beach, local law enforcement responded to Lori Wilson Park on Saturday after a report of a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old in distress in the water, according to the Cocoa Beach Police Department.
The 12-year-old was brought to shore safely, but the 17-year-old was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
While officials did not confirm that the death was weather-related, Brevard County Beach Rescue spokesperson Don Walker said the “seas were extremely rough” Saturday.
In another incident on Friday evening, a 32-year-old woman drowned in Daytona Beach after she was caught in a rip current north of Main Street Pier, according to Volusia County Beach Safety. She was found unresponsive in the ocean about 100 meters from shore before she was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
On Saturday, a broken line of showers and thunderstorms stretched from the Gulf through the Carolinas. A tornado watch was in effect for parts of central Florida — including the Daytona, Gainesville and Tampa areas — until Saturday evening, with the strongest storms anticipated over Florida, where damaging winds and isolated tornadoes were possible.
No tornadoes were reported, and the severe threat in the state has since ended. Four damaging wind reports were submitted, including gusts of 60 mph and minor tree damage. Spotty showers lingered over Florida and the Carolinas in the hours after the severe weather risk passed.
Sunday's forecast
On Sunday, widely scattered showers will dot parts of the Lower 48, with minimal chances of severe weather.
Periods of heavy rain will persist across Florida to end the weekend, specifically the lower half of the peninsula. While no severe weather is anticipated, localized flash flooding due to slow-moving storms is possible. These isolated showers will remain in the forecast through Monday.
A cluster of showers and thunderstorms will develop over parts of Missouri and Illinois on Sunday afternoon and evening, with a marginal risk of severe weather in the region, and a storm or two capable of damaging wind and quarter-sized hail.
Severe weather on the horizon
The next chance for severe weather will arrive Tuesday and Wednesday across the southern Plains and Gulf region. A slight risk of severe weather covers parts of North Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas on Tuesday, where around 4 million people will be impacted including in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Fayetteville in Arkansas.
Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms capable of severe weather hazards will be possible during the late afternoon and evening hours.
By Wednesday, that threat will shift south, impacting 13 million from East Texas to Alabama. Houston; Birmingham, Alabama; Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Louisiana; and Jackson, Mississippi, are highlighted, with the potential for damaging wind, large hail and a few tornadoes.
