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Pensacola area will see frequent showers, thunderstorms into early July
A slow-moving weather pattern moving north from South Florida will bring more instability to the Pensacola area over the weekend as it meets with a dip in the jet stream over the southeastern United States.
The wet weather pattern is likely to stick around through the end of June and into early July, according to AccuWeather.
Leftover energy from Wednesday's round of storms continues to linger above the Pensacola area and could be used to spawn some strong isolated thunderstorms on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama.
Any storm that forms on Thursday will be weaker than the storms that hit earlier this week, which created strong wind gusts on Pensacola Beach and one-inch hail in Santa Rosa County.
Downburst winds are still the primary threat on Thursday, and small hail is still possible.
The Pensacola area escaped Wednesday's storms relatively unscathed. One storm report noted one-inch hail near Airport Road in Milton, but no damage or injuries were reported.
There were around 19 wind-related storm reports across the Florida Panhandle, including one person who was injured after a gust of wind capsized a boat in Grand Lagoon.
Most of the reports involved downed trees and power lines. Wind gusts up to 61 mph along the Gulf Coast.
An abundance of moisture and complex weather conditions over the southeastern U.S. and South Florida is setting up an environment for daily afternoon and evening thunderstorms through the end of June.
A slight dip in the jet stream over the southeastern U.S. will funnel moisture in from the Gulf over the next week. Meanwhile, a closed upper low over southern Florida is making its way north toward the same area.
Current daily MLCAPE values, which measure the potential energy for storms, have risen into the 2,500-3,500 J/kg range, which indicates a strong updraft potential that could sustain severe thunderstorms.
Daily DCAPE values have been measured between 900-1,200 J/kg, which means there is a heightened risk of damaging downburst winds.
Storms will bring the risk of heavy rainfall, downburst winds and even coastal waterspouts from convection in the Gulf.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola area to see frequent showers, thunderstorms into early July
