Volusia and Flagler counties can expect thunderstorms this weekend and into the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 11, thanks to a weak “quasi-stationary” frontal boundary that is strewn across the north-central part of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
The unstable weather pattern is affecting virtually all of north and Central Florida. Minor flooding is possible across the entire region, especially in urban areas.
Meanwhile, rip currents will plague the beaches through late Saturday, Aug. 9, driven in part by a tropical disturbance, while the Atlantic remains relatively quiet.
More thunderstorms expected heading into back-to-school day.
Weekend weather forecast: thunderstorms, rip currents
The forecast for Volusia County calls for an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10. Rainfall totals of less than a tenth of an inch are forecast, with greater amounts in thunderstorms.
For back-to-school on Monday in Volusia County, thunderstorms are expected between 2 and 5 p.m., and rain chances drop to 60%.
Rain chances in Flagler County will reach 90% Saturday. On Monday, there’s an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly likely between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
NWS warns of deadly rip currents along Central Florida coast
Anyone headed to the beach is “strongly discouraged” from entering the water due to life-threatening rip currents. For those who do, experts recommend swimming near a lifeguard and keeping away from low spots or breaks in sandbars and structures like jetties and piers.
According to the NWS, rip currents can “sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water.”
The currents affect much of the east coast of the state, but Volusia and Brevard counties are especially vulnerable this weekend, according to an advisory.
Atlantic relatively quiet hurricane-wise, but it is early yet
So far this hurricane season, the Atlantic has been relatively quiet. There have been no hurricanes, not yet anyway, but there are two tropical disturbances brewing, and they are responsible in part for the rip currents, according to forecasters.
Disturbance 1, well east of Florida’s Atlantic coast, may see some slow development next week as it moves west-northwest across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. The disorganized system, however, has a “low chance of tropical development” in the next seven days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean are contributing to the creation of deadly rip currents off Volusia County’s beaches.
Disturbance 2, located just south of Disturbance 1, is moving west at about 17 mph. Chances are better that it will intensify.
“Although development of this low pressure is not expected over the next 48 hours due to dry air surrounding it, some gradual development is possible during the early or middle part of next week while the system moves (northwest to north) across the central Atlantic,” reports the NHC.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County can expect deadly rip currents this weekend