SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – A weak cold front will move through the area today. Although the front will not bring any real cold air, it will lower the dew point by a few degrees, thereby reducing our relative humidity. The resulting change could last through the weekend.

As the front approaches, the wind direction will temporarily change, then turn westward by the afternoon. Scattered showers are possible later in the afternoon until the front moves south overnight.

As the front moves south, the wind will shift further to the east. This will create a pattern of drier air, lowering humidity and rain chances through the weekend. Daytime temperatures will remain just above 30 degrees, but the drier air will cause morning temperatures to drop a few degrees. With mostly sunny skies, the weekend should be glorious for this time of year.

Models continue to show better chances for tropical cyclone development in the Caribbean next week. A tropical cyclone could develop there, moving north into the Gulf waters and affecting the eastern Gulf waters and the west coast of Florida as it strengthens. That’s the scenario suggested by a group of models. European models have not been as optimistic about cyclone development per se over the past two days. However, they do suggest that a large low pressure vortex is developing over Central America, which would likely be the first prerequisite for tropical cyclone development, and possibly a system affecting the southwestern Gulf. In short, the tropical waters south of us will be an area to watch next week.

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