The Labor Day holiday is here and that means you should factor rain and storms into your outdoor plans, south Florida. It’s typically one of our wettest times of the year. Plus, our weather pattern continues to be “offshore” (meaning storms develop over land and move toward the southeast coast). As we’ve seen lately, these days typically start with plenty of strong sunshine. The bright skies then transition to dark and cloudy during the afternoon as storms advance into local neighborhoods. Upon checking, weather almanacs from recent years prove that this particular holiday is often a wet one for southeast Florida. Miami has only had 1-dry Labor Day in the past 10 years! The main concern for “this year” includes the threat of street flooding. With extremely light winds, there’s nothing to push the activity along. Rain bands and storms tend to drift and that could easily lead to water piling up on local roadways. Be prepared to possibly change your route should you encounter a water-covered street (with unknown depth).
Looking beyond the holiday, we’ll likely see a minor change Tuesday and Wednesday. High Pressure will try to rebuild near the Bahamas and that will allow winds to veer out of the southeast (instead of southwest). While that may sound minor, it will make a big difference as to how rain and storms progress during the course of the day. Instead of the activity targeting the SE coast, we’ll see it drift farther inland. In this pattern, the wettest weather focuses on interior south Florida (especially the Everglades). The “nearby high” may also bring a reduction in moisture so we might see fewer downpours around (for a day or two). Later in the week, it appears we’ll revert back to those “active afternoons”. Steering winds will, once again, turn out of the southwest with the offshore flow returning.
Don’t forget, we’re approaching the very peak of the 2021 Hurricane Season. Often this is the busiest time of the season in the tropics. For the time being, we’re in fine shape. Still, we’ll need to pay close attention to any development in the weeks (and months) ahead. The season doesn’t officially end until November 30.
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