The weather pattern will change for Florida this week as we will see a rain uptick starting Wednesday with more moisture moving in, allowing for widespread thunderstorms, some of which can turn severe.

A low-pressure system rotating just off the coast of Virginia has a stationary front that will be retracting slowly back toward South Florida on Wednesday, increasing the instability, and moving it northward over Florida.

Winds from the east will dominate over much of the Peninsula which will take the rounds of showers and thunderstorms from east to west. The winds will arrive very warm to Florida’s west coast which will trigger the sea breeze to kick in. This will also serve as a break mechanism for some storms, making them slow down over areas where the drought is extreme (around the Tampa Bay area). But there will also be strong to severe thunderstorms affecting areas to the south of Tampa, like Port Charlotte through Naples.

The eastern half of Florida will also get rounds of storms, so don’t let your guard down if you are in these regions. Strong to severe storms will be possible starting Tuesday afternoon.

The drought in this area has improved in the last 2 weeks, but much for the central-east region, including Orlando, Kissimmee, and Cape Canaveral continues under abnormally dry conditions. The increase in shower and thunderstorm activity could finally put a knife to the drought over the Central and eastern portion of the Sunshine State.

The storms that develop this week along the Peninsula could develop damaging winds of at least 50 mph, and excessive rainfall that could produce localized flooding. Residents along the east coast make sure to look up toward the coast. There are also good chances of some waterspouts forming starting Tuesday.

For those who are thinking about venturing out to the east coast to the beach, a high risk of rip currents will be present all week. Staying away from the water will be your best option.