Rain set to dampen spring break, spring training plans across Florida

 By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist

Updated Mar. 6, 2021 11:04 AM EST

The first weekend of March typically features spring breaker's and baseball aficionado's flocking down to Florida to enjoy the warm and sunny weather, however, Mother Nature will unfortunately dampen plans for many looking to spend time outdoors.

After spreading rain across the South Central and Gulf Coast states late week, a storm system will continue along a path into the Sunshine State this weekend. While flooding rain is not expected to be an issue from this passing storm, it may be enough to cause delays or postponements of some spring training games scheduled during the day on Saturday.

Of the seven spring training games slated to take place across central and South Florida on Saturday, all games will face the threat of wet weather.

Plans to head out to one of the many beaches across Florida may be washed out for a majority of the day on Saturday as well, as a steady rain and perhaps a few rumbles of thunder pass through.

Radar image taken around 11 a.m. EST Saturday shows storms soaking portions of Florida. (AccuWeather)

With the exception of South Florida, below-average temperatures to start the weekend may also keep residents and visitors away from Florida's beaches as well. Temperatures will struggle to climb into the upper 60s F in places like Tampa and Daytona Beach, and may not even reach the 60-degree-Fahrenheit mark in Jacksonville.

Places like Miami and Key West will climb comfortably into the upper 70s F, however the threat of wet weather may cut into time spent on the water.

The storm system responsible for the wet weather across Florida to start the weekend will begin to exit off the Atlantic coast by early Sunday morning. A cool northerly wind on the back side of the departing storm system will result in a very chilly start to the day on Sunday.

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Temperatures may dip down into the upper 30s and lower 40s along the Interstate-10 corridor across northern Florida on Sunday. Farther south, places like Orlando will likely fall into the lower 50s. With a brisk wind in place, AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures™ will fall even further below the actual air temperatures before the sunshine starts to warm things up.

The breeze will also make for rough surf along the Atlantic coast as well. In addition to the cool conditions, rough surf along most beaches will likely keep most people out of the water.

"There will also be a high risk for rip currents through Saturday evening, especially along the eastern shores of Florida," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert warned.

The north-to-northeast wind will keep the nearshore chop to a minimum along the Gulf coast, however anyone planning an offshore boating trip can expect to experience building seas away from the shore. For those planning a fishing trip prior to the end of the weekend, it may be best to stick to bays and other inland waters.

A relatively cool and quiet weather pattern is expected to continue through early next week across much of Florida as an area of high pressure settles in across the Southeast. Widespread 80s will likely not make a return to the Florida Peninsula until midweek next week.

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