Warm, mostly dry before strong front on Thursday

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After some patchy morning fog, temperatures climb quickly into the upper 70s this afternoon. That’s about five degrees above average for mid December.

We’ll have a few clouds during the afternoon, and there’s just a 10% chance of a stray shower east of I-75.

It stays mild through the evening with lows in the mid 60s. Our warmest day is tomorrow with highs in the low 80s. Warm air is pulled north ahead of an approaching cold front.

That front brings the threat of severe storms across the Southeast as it heads east. The front and the line of storms will be slightly weaker when they arrive in Tampa Bay Thursday afternoon, but we may still get some strong thunderstorms.

Behind the front, it slowly clears out and cools off. The last of the rain ends early Friday. Highs on Friday will only be near 70 degrees.

Saturday starts out quite chilly in the 50s, and it warms into the upper 60s by the afternoon. Clouds increase through the day, and there’s a slim rain chance late. More rain is expected early Sunday, and Sunday should be a mostly cloudy and chilly day with highs only in the low-mid 60s.

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