Florida Public Radio Emergency Network

It will be a very hot and muggy weekend, with triple-digit heat indices and the typical afternoon storms. Widespread tropical rains coming next week, increasing the flood risk.

Get ready for record heat temperatures to return to much of Florida starting on Thursday and staying through the weekend. Rain chances also ramp up, but not for everyone... for now.

There is an elite team of airmen and airwomen that fly into the most powerful and dangerous storms on the Planet. They’re called Hurricane Hunters. Their missions are crucial when it comes to forecasting these tropical machines.

La Nina and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures are major drivers of tropical activity. NOAA stressed that their "outlook" is for overall seasonal activity and is not a landfall forecast.

Dangerous rip currents will be at a high risk along the Florida panhandle through Sunday with an increased risk along the Gulf coast beaches as well.

Although the Atlantic hurricane season doesn't start until June 1, the National Hurricane Center begins issuing tropical outlooks on May 15.

A front continues to meander between North and Central Florida, expect rounds of storms, some could be severe and the flood threat continues.

A powerful squall line with embedded tornadoes tore through the Panhandle early this morning.This line of storms moved through the western Panhandle overnight and into the capitol region before sunrise this morning. Several tornado warnings were triggered by strong areas of radar-indicated rotation detected by the Tallahassee radar, before the storm temporarily disabled the NWS Tallahassee radar.

Much of Florida will experience July-like temperatures, with high heat indices to close the week. Many hot records will be broken or tied.

Sunday May 5th is the first day of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration (NOAA) National Hurricane Preparedness Week. The start of the 2024 hurricane season less than a month away and there are early indicators of an active year in the tropics.