The new week begins with a strong breeze, especially by the coast. Often gusty conditions will hold for a couple days and that will likely have impacts for boaters and beach goers. Waters have already turned choppy and even rough by the Keys. The threat of rip currents remains high, so ocean swimming isn’t recommended. The increase in winds is coming as two separate fronts dissipate from Lake Okeechobee northward to the Florida state line. North of the “fading fronts” is strong high pressure. It happens to be the primary player in our local weather. As high pressure sends clockwise winds, that will mean mild ocean air arriving from the east and northeast. Our temperatures will be slightly warmer than average through the midweek. The next weather change is already in sight although it won’t come until the weekend. Next Sunday, forecast maps show a cold front crossing south Florida before pushing all the way past Cuba into the northern Caribbean! Behind the boundary, we’ll turn modestly cooler. At this early point, forecast models suggest a dip of about 10 degrees with winds veering out of the north into next week. By the way, we’re also monitoring the tropics… just as the official hurricane season starts to wind down. There’s a distant disturbance over the northeastern Atlantic which may impact the Azores islands. Additionally, we may need to watch the western Caribbean for future potential development (next week). It would primarily be a concern for Central America if anything happened to form in that area.