Stronger Cold Front Tuesday 

Good evening! Quite a bit going on tonight across the southeast, with a stationary front becoming warm and moving northward across central Florida and a stronger front, this one cold, slicing through the central Gulf of Mexico. It's that stronger front that will move through during the afternoon Tuesday, bringing with it a good chance of rain and much cooler temperatures through the rest of the week.

High pressure moving by the north forced a backdoor cold front through central Florida early Monday morning. That's why we saw much more in the way of clouds today, coastal sprinkles, and cooler temperatures. In fact, we went from highs that were in the upper 70s and low 80s Christmas Day to upper 60s and low 70s today! That backdoor front is lifting northward tonight as a warm front, triggering a chance of rain along the coast through daybreak. We'll also have areas of fog.

By Tuesday at daybreak, our next front will be moving toward the Gulf coast. Expect a chance of showers (and even a few storms) to move through the area during the afternoon with the front -- the chance of rain is 60%. Rain will arrive across our western counties by noon and push offshore the east coast beaches by 6-8 pm. Overall, rainfall totals with the front will be highest across our northern counties, with up to half an inch of rain possible.

The sky will clear out fairly quickly as the front moves through, setting the stage for a chilly night tomorrow. We'll have several days behind the front with highs in the 65-74 degree range and lows in the 40s.

Have a great Tuesday!

Brian Monahan