Unusual drying with Saharan dust didn’t last long. It basically provided us with two days of haze and little in the way of rain. That is, until very recently. On Thursday afternoon the drying subsided (only persisting over the Lower and Middle Florida Keys). Strong storms romped across much of south Florida remembered most by the brief hail stones that accompanied many of the downpours. Initially, hail was reported in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines, then more storms drifted south into Miami-Dade. Additional hail reports expanded from West Kendall and Kendale Lakes to the Hammocks late in the afternoon. There’s a good chance we’ll see another round of summer storms on Friday, but they’ll likely hold off until late in the day. The latest models show rain and storms over southeast Florida, metro and coastal areas, from the late afternoon hours through nightfall. These slow-movers may last a bit longer than on Thursday, too. On the weather map we have a nearby area of high pressure. That’s usually a good thing promoting calm weather but not in our case. Instead, we’ll just get the light wind effect without the clearing or drying associated with the Gulf high. The upcoming weekend looks equally mixed. Both Saturday and Sunday, afternoon storms will probably pop-up with the daytime heating. Weak sea breeze boundaries will be the main culprit. Finally, early next week really hinges on the proximity of a low pressure area. We’ll had many of these “upper lows” reach us in south Florida in recent weeks. The latest disturbance is drifting away from Hispaniola and will slowly approach the Straits and Keys by Monday. If the low doesn’t veer south, we’ll get an enhancement of storms. Some thunderstorms could be particularly strong both Monday and Tuesday. Updates will follow.