Current Weather Outlook
Statewide weather outlook from Florida Division of Emergency Management Meteorology
Thursday, March 19, 2026
...Late Season Cool Pattern Comes to an End...Temperatures Remain Mild in the Upper 60s and Lower 70s Across North and Central Florida, Courtey of Brisk Northeasterly Winds...Isolated to Widely Scattered Showers Possible Along East-Central Florida and Southeast Florida Coast...Chilly Temperatures Expected Tonight for interior North Florida, a Few Rural Locations May See the Upper 30s for One More Night...Greater Fog Threat This Weekend, But Patchy Fog and Low Clouds Possible for Interior Northeast Florida Locations Tonight...Exceptional Drought (level 4 of 4) Introduced for the northern Suwannee River Valley...Locally Sensitive to Elevated Wildfire Conditions Continue...High Risk of Rip Currents for East Coast and West-Central Florida Beaches...
Updated at 10:20 AM EDT
Today's Threats:
|
No Threat |
Low Threat |
Medium Threat |
High Threat |
|
Lightning |
Tornado |
Damaging Wind/Hail |
Wildfire |
Freeze (Overnight) |
Flash Flooding |
Fog (Overnight) |
Rip Currents |
| Iso. Southeast FL |
Locally Statewide |
|
Iso. Interior Northeast FL
|
East Coast & West-Central Florida Florida Panhandle & Southwest Florida Nature Coast |
Weather Summary for the Next 24 Hours:
Our late season cool pattern will begin to rebound today under a mixture of sunshine and clouds; however, brisk northeasterly winds will keep afternoon highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s through much of North and East Florida. Wind gusts of 20-25 mph can be expected, with locally higher wind gusts upwards of 30 mph will be possible along the immediate Atlantic beachfront. Onshore flow will allow for isolated to widely scattered showers (35-50% chance of rain) along coastal East-Central and Southeast Florida. Shielded by the winds, West-Central and Southwest Florida will be the warmest spots on the map today with afternoon high temperatures returning into the middle to upper 70s.
While warmer than recent nights, low temperatures will remain chilly in the lower 40s across North Florida and the Nature Coast, with a few interior locations making a run toward the upper 30s one more night. While it is looking like a greater concern for this weekend, patchy fog and low clouds may be possible tonight across interior Northeast Florida areas.
Rip Currents: A high risk for rip currents will persist for East Coast and West-Central Florida beaches today, with a moderate risk expected along the Florida Panhandle and Southwest Florida coastline. For the latest Rip Current Outlook, visit www.weather.gov/beach.
Marine Hazards: Dangerous beach and marine conditions can be expected to persist along the Florida East Coast today, with wave heights reaching 4-6’ consistently at all Atlantic beaches. Locally higher breakers in the surf zone will reach 7-8’ at times as strong northeasterly winds continue to build its long-period ocean swell. Wave height conditions improve along the Florida Gulf Coast, with breakers remaining in the 1-3’ range.
Red Tide was observed at background conditions in Escambia, Walton, Bay, Gulf, and Franklin Counties, and in very low concentrations from one sample collected in Brevard County (valid 3/13/26).
Coastal Flooding: There is no risk for coastal flooding today.
Fire Weather: Recent wetting rains have been certainly beneficial in the short-term; however, we will need several more rounds of rainfall to push the needle out of the deficit and improve the long-term drought and dry soil/vegetation. Relative humidity values will drop once again into the 20s and 30s across North and interior North-Central Florida, leading to locally sensitive to elevated wildfire conditions. Winds again will be strongest along the I-95 corridor this afternoon, with wind gusts reaching 20-30 mph possible. According to the Florida Forest Service, there are 44 active wildfires across the state burning approximately 2,825 acres.
Drought (3/19/26): Very little changes were made to this week’s Drought Monitor update, even despite much of the Sunshine State seeing beneficial wetting rains earlier in the period. As previously mentioned, the rainfall associated with the potent springtime cold front helped Florida locations in the near-term, as observed in improved KBDI values; however, observed rainfall totals were still not enough to alleviate long-term drought and dry soils/vegetation. Widespread severe (level 2 of 4) to extreme drought (level 3 of 4) continues nearly statewide, with the largest change occurring along the northern reaches of the Suwannee River. Exceptional (level 4 of 4) drought has been introduced over eastern Madison, Northern Gilchrist, western Suwannee, and Hamilton counties; portions of the Florida-Georgia state line saw worsening soil moisture and precipitation deficits and several streamflow gauges moved into record-low territory for mid-March. Very heavy rain fell in parts of Miami-Dade County, resulting in some improvements to drought conditions, though the benefit of the heavy rain was likely limited given runoff and very low water levels in the Everglades.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida is 425 (-1) on a scale from 0 (very wet) to 800 (very dry). There are 19 Florida counties that have an average KBDI above 500 (drought/increased fire danger).
Flash Flooding: Flash flooding is not expected across Florida today.
Riverine Flooding: There are no riverine concerns across Florida. For more information, visit the River Forecast Center.
Lake Okeechobee’s average elevation is 12.09 feet, which is within the operational band and is 2.32 feet below normal for this time of year.
