A flood watch is in effect in all counties of the viewing area through Friday at 11. With the ground saturated and considerable “precipitable water” in the atmosphere (that’s the amount of moisture available for precipitation), on-and-off downpours are likely again for Thursday and Friday morning. The ground can’t hold much more water, so flooding continues to be a concern heading into late week.
Once the weekend arrives, the westerly flow — which has brought Gulf moisture onshore nearly every morning for the past week — turns into an easterly flow. Humidity will decrease somewhat compared to the big highs from the past week, and cloud cover will give way to more sunshine. However, the easterly flow will bring more storms during the afternoon to coastal areas, but overall, it looks like a better pattern than what the Suncoast has been getting recently.