There’s a marginal chance that a line of severe storms will pass over northern portions of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties on Wednesday night and Thursday.
The brunt of the storms will be concentrated over Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with weaker storms spanning into Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia and a sliver of the northern half of the Florida Panhandle.
Pensacola proper and the southern parts of Santa Rosa County, including Gulf Breeze and Navarre, should be relatively free of risk from severe storms on Wednesday. Thursday could bring some risk of severe storms throughout the Panhandle, according to AccuWeather.
The line of storms is part of a large weather pattern expected to ramp up storm activity from Texas to the Northeast on Wednesday before moving toward the eastern coast by Thursday.
Areas north of Florida will likely see damaging winds, hail, localized flash flooding and a few tornadoes.
Pensacola area storm threat on Wednesday
Molino, Century, Jay, Berrydale and Chumuckla are within the portions of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties that have a marginal chance of severe storms, according to the National Weather Service.
The NWS Mobile office warns of damaging winds up to 60 mph, quarter-sized hail and the possibility of a few tornadoes in its coverage area. Tornadoes are less likely to spin up in Escambia and Santa Rosa.
Areas around Century will see potentially stormy weather throughout Wednesday, with less than a tenth of an inch of rain expected and slight chances of thunder before 8 p.m., according to the NWS hourly forecast.
Pensacola area storm threat on Thursday
The Florida Panhandle as a whole will see storm activity start to pick up early Thursday morning. Northern Escambia and Santa Rosa can expect storms and about a half-inch of rain throughout the day. Lower parts of both counties will see about a quarter-inch of rain.
Warm temperatures and humid air from the Gulf could fuel some severe thunderstorms in the area, according to AccuWeather. Localized wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph and bouts of heavier rain are possible where storms develop.
Weekend weather forecast
Don’t expect any sunny beach adventures this weekend. The cold front responsible for driving this line of storms is expected to stall over the area on Friday. A series of upper disturbances will move into the area around the same time, bringing on-and-off showers and possible storms through early next week.
Pensacola weather radar
Pensacola severe weather alerts, warnings and watches
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: NWS warns of severe midweek storms in Escambia, Santa Rosa
Reporting by Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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