Elsa In SE Gulf, Heading Towards Tampa Bay...

Satellite and radar views continue to show a very lopsided , but strong Tropical Storm moving NNW but much slower now only 10 mph.  That will mean an increased flooding threat for Florida's west coast.

The upper SW wind shear has not allowed storms to rotate around the center with half of the circulation now exposed on the visible satellite loop.  This to me says Elsa is not getting stronger.  A Hurricane Hunter aircraft (delayed due to lightning) is now heading towards Elsa and new data will tell us the strength later this afternoon.

The rainfall forecast leaves Florida's east coast with less than an inch, but the west coast will see 4-6"+.

Satellite views show how the frontal boundary has become ill defined over the SE, but NHC's thinking is for Elsa to follow their path that will take it very close to going right up Tampa Bay and then accerlating toward the Carolinas.

For us locally, it's another day of above normal clouds and showers.  I grabbed these pics watching Selby Latino on FOX 8's morning news earlier this week.

She pointed out how June finally broke the streak of getting into the top 5 wettest months.  However the rains keep coming and July's total of 5"+ has up to nearly 56" for the year. You can see what the 10 wettest years on record are.

Another 20" during the next 5 1/2 months have us in the top ten.  If our current pace keeps going, we could be heading for # one!   Joy oh joy!  Stay tuned!