Active 2011 Hurricane Season Comes to an End

Today, November 30th, officially ends the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season. This year's active season of 19 named tropical systems will go down as the third-highest total since records began in 1851 and is well above the average of 11. Of the 19 tropical storms, seven became hurricanes, three of which became major hurricanes (Cat 3 or higher) that remained offshore. And as far as land-falling major hurricanes, 2011 marks six straight years without one hitting the U.S. The last one to do so was Wilma in 2005. Irene was the lone hurricane to hit the United States in 2011, and the first to do so since Ike struck Texas in 2008. Irene was the most significant tropical system to strike the Northeast since Hurricane Bob in 1991.

-KW

As promised................

Colder air will be here tonight. Most of SW Florida will wake up to temperatures in the 50s tomorrow morning, 40s Thursday morning. Continued cooler than average all week. - Jim

Cold front arrives later this evening! Isolated light shower possible followed by much cooler weather for the week.

Watching a cold front moving into SWFL. We could see a few showers moving through but the big change is the much cooler weather to follow. We will see lows falling into the upper 50s to low 60s Tuesday morning. The coldest air of the season arrives Wednesday morning as lows fall into the upper 40s. We will see plently of sun starting Wednesday. This will start a gradual warming trend, low 80s by the weekend.

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Scott Zedeker
WINK TV Meteorologist

Cold Front

Showers will accompany todays cold front. Get ready for a coooool week with lows in the 50's and highs in the 70's. - Jim

Wet Weather on the One of the Busiest Travel Days

We're tracking a cold front that is bringing rainfall from Louisiana to the upper Midwest and into the Ohio River Valley. Much of the Florida peninsula will stay dry today, but watch for scattered rainfall tomorrow (Monday) here in SW FL. If you're traveling today and are worried about travel delays, check out http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp.

-KW

Cool tonight! Plenty of sun in to the weekend. But a much bigger cool down on the way next week.

Enjoy the weekend. We will have a few cool starts but with plenty of sun highs will get back into the low 80s.  Big changes for next week! A much bigger cold front will move through late Sunday into Monday morning. This will bring us a chance of rain Sunday night. Monday the cooler and drier weather will be moving in. Overnight lows Tuesday will fall into the upper to middle 40s. Highs onlt in the low 70s. Not much rain is expected with this next cold front. less than a .25". This front will just be bringing us much cooler weather. Enjoy!

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Scott Zedeker
WINK TV Meteorologist

Cold Front

Another cold front will arrive tonight. Perfect timing for a sunny, less humid Thanksgiving Holiday. - Jim

Brief Cool Down for Today

On the back side of a cold front that passed through Thursday, cooler and drier air is filtering into SW FL. The breeze continues to pick up from the northeast. Because of the wind a Small Craft Advisory is in effect through Saturday morning. And that wind is driving in moisture from the Atlantic in the form of cloud cover, and a few isolated showers can't be ruled out, but accumulation more than a few hundredths isn't expected. For your weekend, temps will heat right back up to the middle 80s, warmer than average!

-KW

Isolated Rain Expected This Afternoon

Patchy dense fog in southwest Florida continues to lift, and partly cloudy skies are expected this morning. Increasing cloud cover ahead of a line of showers and isolated thunderstorms is forecast this afternoon. Significant rainfall is not anticipated. With the front to our south, Friday will be a bit breezy but cooler with highs around 80.

-KW

For Those Missing Summer...

...this forecast is for you. Warmer than average temperatures, combined with dew points in the upper 60s and low 70s, will create heat index values this afternoon in the 90s. Even tomorrow, warm and sticky conditions are in the forecast ahead of an approaching front. As this front sags to our south on Friday, slightly cooler and drier air will filter in, but warmer than average temps will return Saturday afternoon and stick around!

-KW

Warm and Humid

This will be a warmer week than last with higher humidity. Afternoon high temperatures will hover around the mid 80s. - Jim

Brrrrr...But Big Changes Are on the Way

Quite a cool start here in SW FL this Saturday morning. We started the day with temperatures in the upper 40s and 50s, 10+ degrees cooler than average! Highs this afternoon will warm into the mid 70s, still cooler than average but warmer than yesterday's upper 60s and low 70s. Thanks to a south wind returning, temperatures will warm into the lower 80s by Sunday and by Monday be warmer than average and in the middle 80s! As a matter of fact increased humidity combined with these hot temperatures may feel a bit summer-like midweek.

-KW

Cold Front

The cold front will arrive tonight and cooler air will be in place through Saturday morning. Temperatures will warm next week. - Jim

Sean

Sub Tropical Storm Sean will be moving farther away from SW Florida as a new cold front arrives Thursday night. We will have a cool weekend. - Jim

Subtropical Storm Sean

Earlier this morning, the National Hurricane Center deemed the area of low pressure spinning between the Bahamas and Bermuda as a subtropical storm. Sean will not be an issue for Southwest Florida as our next cold front moving in late Thursday will sweep it out to sea. Temperatures in the morning will remain in the 60s with daytime highs climbing back into the lower half of the 80s. A cooler weekend is on tap with plentiful sunshine and chilly overnight temps -- low 50s by by Saturday morning.
-KM

Increasing Clouds, Maybe a Sprinkle...

High pressure is in control of our weather as it continues to move across the Mid-Atlantic states today. That, combined with an area of lower pressure (non-tropical in nature) around 400 miles southwest of Bermuda, is keeping us in a breezy northeasterly flow. That means a sunny sky this morning will transition into a mix of sun and clouds by the afternoon, with the possibility of a sprinkle or two. We will see a few more comfortable mornings, with warmer afternoons as daytime temperatures climb into the lower half of the 80s. An approaching cold front on Thursday will increase the clouds a bit with a small chance for spotty showers. Once the front pulls to the south of the area, expect cooler and drier conditions to filter in by Friday with a sunny weekend in store.
KM

Cooooooler

Temperatures will run 10 degrees cooler than average tonight, 5 degrees below average both weekend afternoon days. Get ready for an extended period of low humidity. - Jim

Next Front: Friday

Another weak cold front will arrive late Friday. That will set us up for cool mornings and sunny days this weekend. - Jim

October 2011 Ranks as the 7th Wettest..

No doubt about it the month of October was a wet one...Here's how the month stacked up against the rest.

The Top 10 Wettest Octobers for Fort Myers:

1. 19.70" in 1924

2. 12.04" in 1959

3. 11.91" in 1951

4. 11.08" in 1921

5. 11.03" in 1969

6. 10.80" in 1921

7. 10.73" in 2011***

8. 9.26" in 1910

9. 8.34" in 1952

10. 8.17" in 2005