Downpours in Florida by Elizabeth Saary
Thunderstorms are a regular feature of the weather in Florida. The wettest time of the year is from May to October when afternoon storms bring some torrential downpours.
So far it looks as though May 2005 could be on course for being wetter than average. A weather front passed across the state bringing quite a bit of rain. Instead of then clearing into the Atlantic, the front stalled and reinvigorated, forming an area of low pressure and creating even more heavy rain.
Hail as big as golf balls has been reported near Daytona Beach. 60mm, over two inches of rain, was also recorded up until midday on Wednesday.
At West Palm Beach 43mm of rain was recorded in just six hours. This is over one third of the average rainfall for the whole month.
The weather is not expected to clear across Florida until later on Friday, but thereafter there will be some fine and dry weather, so prospects are good for sun-lovers over the weekend.
As the low pressure area bringing the rain moves away from Florida it is going to move slowly up the east coast of the USA bringing strong winds and heavy rain to all the Atlantic states.
This is not good news for the PGA tour as the Championship at Quail Hollow gets underway today at Charlotte in North Carolina. The Ladies Open at Kingsmill in Virginia may also be hampered by the adverse weather conditions.
There are however better conditions in the forecast for both these events as they move into the final rounds over the weekend.
In other news, the wet season in southern and central China is also getting underway now. 93mm, almost half the May average rainfall, fell in just twelve hours in Changsha in Hunan province.
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