Downpours to soak Florida as former Tropical Depression 4 nears by late week

Robust showers and thunderstorms from the former Tropical Depression Four will affect the Florida Peninsula during the latter part of this week.

The weak circulation that was Tropical Depression Four is gone, but heavy showers and gusty thunderstorms will continue moving westward, just north of the Greater Antilles this week.

This activity will spread across the Bahamas during the middle of the week.

"An uptick in downpours is likely over the Florida Peninsula spanning later Thursday and Friday," according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

The storms will raise the risk of urban flooding and isolated damaging wind gusts and sudden rough seas in coastal waters.

People on the beach may have to run for cover more often, when compared to a typical summer day.

There will be the potential for locally rough seas as well as stronger and more frequent rip currents, when compared to average.

However, it will provide a dose of locally heavy rainfall to the region.

While the Sunshine State is no longer considered to be in drought, the downpours will help to green up lawns that have become brown in recent days.

The dry spell has become most pronounced in the southeastern counties of the peninsula.

For example, Miami has received only 0.02 of an inch of rain from July 1-10. Melbourne, Florida, has only received 0.01 of an inch of rain during the same period. Average rainfall for the first 10 days of July is 2.25 and 1.75 inches, respectively.

Rainfall was generally at or above average during June over much of the state. The summer months are considered to be the rainy season in Florida.

"We do not expect the former Tropical Depression Four to redevelop, but there is an other area of disturbed weather in the Atlantic that bears watching," Kottlowski said.

The area of concern is over the middle of the south-central Atlantic as of Monday.

"It is possible this system develops as it approaches the Windward Islands at the end of the week," Kottlowski said.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is likely to remain quiet through this week.