It’s a new week with the return of soggy weather conditions. Plenty of moisture is streaming into the state and it will combine with the sea breeze to stir up heavy downpours through Sunday. Then, a distant front (with energy ahead of it) will slide into Florida to produce more frequent rain by Monday and Tuesday. Florida will remain mostly cloudy and unsettled as tropical air holds over us. It’s the kind of pattern that can produce very heavy rains with localized flooding, so it’s necessary to watch for that potential in the days ahead. Keep in mind that as winds slow down, mainly by Monday, the meandering downpours could create the most problems. Looking ahead, the Florida boundary (which is partially responsible for the mess) should gradually lift northward and away from the region by Thursday. Until then, the rain and thunderstorms will remain likely, arriving in rounds. We’ll also end July with high levels of heat. This is nothing new. The National Weather Service recently reported that this particular July will go down as the hottest in history, based on average temperature. The most eye opening statistic, perhaps, involves the level of warmth even at night. In the tropics, there are a series of waves stretching from the Caribbean through the Atlantic, five in all. Only one of these is being monitored for potential development and that chance remains “low”. It’s worth noting that the tropical wave in focus is also among the farthest away… over the eastern Atlantic and thousands of miles away from any land.