Hot, stormy Monday to start the workweek

High temperatures return to the 90s under increasing cloud cover. After a mostly sunny start to the day, more clouds will develop closer to lunchtime. Expect high humidity to make Monday’s peak temperatures feel like the triple digits. Isolated showers and storms will form across Southwest Florida in the early afternoon.

Their coverage will continue to increase into the late afternoon and evening, as scattered thunderstorms are expected to form. Most of these will remain below severe limits, with lightning and gusty winds being the largest hazards. Rain chances will drastically decline after sunset.

Slightly stronger easterly and southeasterly winds will create moderate chop within some of our bays. Boaters can additionally expect Gulf wave heights to reach 1 to 3 feet. A new plume of Saharan dust will settle into the WINK News viewing area on Tuesday. This will lower our air quality for the remainder of the week and reduce our rain chances beginning on Wednesday.

The tropics are beginning to show signs of life. After over a month of inactivity, a disturbance formed in the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. This system now has a medium (40%) chance of becoming a named storm within the next five days. The disturbance is currently over 3,000 miles off our shoreline, and it’s far too early for The Weather Authority to speculate on its future path. The next named storm on our 2022 naming list would be Danielle.