ORLANDO, Fla. – Friday is the last day of February! We’re right on the brink of entering the final month of the first quarter of 2025.
As we wander closer to the month of March and closer to the calendar start of the spring season, we have to talk severe weather. Mother Nature fully intends to get us talking as well.
In recent days, the overall weather pattern across the U.S. has started to take on a change of pace and a totally different look than we witnessed during the Christmas holiday and January. We’re starting to see a pattern more reminiscent of spring, and more so, tornado season.
The winter storms are starting to trend further northward, as is the jet stream that directs this low pressure traffic flow. Long-range computer data also seems to reflect warmth really starting to take over for the eastern half of the U.S., which will drive the necessary ingredients northward across not only us in Florida but the rest of the South for severe weather.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There will still be small pushes of “cooler” air (note the quotes), but all of our moving pieces across the weather-sphere are looking a lot more like warm, spring-like conditions will begin to really dominate as we go through March and especially beyond the official commencement of spring.
Cue the brewing storm system expected to eject out of the Rockies.
This system will be MOVING! The orientation of the trough in the upper levels of the atmosphere helping to grow the low pressure at the surface will be in its best position to drive strong thunderstorms down across the southern plains, Dixie Alley and into the Florida Panhandle. Areas north of the Panhandle will also experience some active weather action because of this.
I do think there’s a decent shot we see a bit of these heavier batches of rain and more significant thunderstorms realized here in Central Florida. We’ll be warming up day-to-day, leading up to the main event, and our moisture will also be readily available for this system to tap into.
As it stands now, the worst of the effects we’ll arrive in Central Florida by sometime late Wednesday. Pending the movement of our low pressure center, and the cold frontal boundary it’ll be dragging on its southern flank, this could fluctuate a bit.
A great example was our Daytona 500 system, which looked to miss the race entirely, but inevitably resulted in a fairly lengthy rain delay.
Our forecast models are also pinpointing some energy available for these storms to try and maintain their structure into our viewing counties. So we can expect some heavier rainfall through the evening hours of Wednesday, and maybe some gusty winds as this frontal line pushes along.
Definitely stick with your Pinpoint Weather team as we dial in this forecast and watch closely as we approach severe weather game day. Absolutely spread the word if you have family, friends, whomever in areas directly under the gun for some of the more harsh impacts with this storm.
