Rainy weather expected to continue
After a wetter-than-normal weekend, experts are predicting more rain in the coming week.
“We’re in the middle of our rainy season,” Tyler Fleming, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay Office, said Tuesday. “June to August, September – it’s not too unheard of.”
However, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area observed heavy rains over the last three to four days.
“Fort Myers saw up to 9 inches of rain,” he said. “Cape Coral’s seen 4 (inches) to 5 inches.”
The average amount of rain recorded for the entire month of July is about 9 inches.
“It certainly was a large amount of rain,” Fleming said of the recent storms.
He noted that coastal areas experienced a higher level of rainfall than the inland areas.
According to Fleming, local rainfall amounts are measured at Page Field Airport.
“Nothing in the last few days broke their rainfall record,” he said.
But, heavy long-lasting rains can overwhelm storm sewers and produce flooding.
Fleming reported that on Sunday, the heaviest rainfall fell in Fort Myers. The Hancock Creek area observed water above the seawall, and neighborhood flooding was reported in San Carlos Park.
On Saturday, vehicles drove through high waters on Fort Myers Beach roadways.
“So far today, it hasn’t been near as bad,” he said. “A little drier.”
But, the drier weather is not expected to be around for long.
“In general, the forecast looks like it’s going to be pretty wet through the rest of the week,” Fleming said.
Today there is a 30 percent chance of rain for the Cape-Fort Myers area.
“We won’t see too much more rain,” he said.
Starting Thursday, however, the forecasts call for a 40 percent to 50 percent chance of rain.
“It’ll be mostly during the afternoon,” Fleming said.
In addition to the rains, the wet weekend stirred up rip currents along the coast.
“We do have a high risk of rip currents,” he said.
That will diminish as the week progresses.