Brian LaMarre

Exactly. It was nice to have the disturbance (mesoscale convective vortex) move over Tampa from the Gulf with the showers and thunderstorms which enhanced the rainfall and another one pushed over southwest Florida. Any bit helps! 😎

The following are select airport 24-hour rainfall totals (inches) ending at 7 AM Saturday.

In addition, a radar-estimated, total rainfall accumulation map shows the variation and distinct bands of higher rainfall.

✈️TPA: 1.44☔️
✈️PIE: 0.94☔️
✈️SRQ: 0.35☔️
✈️PGD: 0.60☔️
✈️FMY: 0.05☔️
✈️RSW: 0.01☔️

The significant and ongoing Florida drought had a sip of water on Friday into early this Saturday morning after bands of showers and thunderstorms pushed over the region.

The rain began at 4:10 PM ET and the heaviest rainfall occurred with thunderstorms between 6:45-7:35 PM ET.

Impressive downpours at Tampa International Airport earlier with 0.96 inches of rain ending at 7:53 PM ET at the time of the weather observation.

When you’re in a significant drought in Florida and monitoring radar as showers and thunderstorms move in across Tampa Bay toward your location! #weather

When you’re in a significant drought in Florida and monitoring radar as showers and thunderstorms move in across Tampa Bay toward your location!

It was exciting for my consulting business, Inspire Weather, LLC, to be included in the opportunity to support local decision-makers and the community by translating complex coastal and flood-risk science into information that can be directly applied to policy and land use choices.

This case underscores the importance of incorporating robust, site-specific hazard analysis into planning decisions in coastal high hazard areas, where small changes in elevation, exposure, and land use can significantly influence long-term risk.

Following extensive public comment and deliberation, Council voted 4–3 to retain the existing land use and preserve the historic character of the site.

These findings were synthesized into expert testimony and a technical briefing for Tampa City Council during its public hearing on February 12, 2026 on a proposed change from residential/light office to community mixed-use land use.

In addition, I examined how sea-level-rise projections could interact with existing surge and wave hazards over the project’s expected lifespan, with an emphasis on compounding risk in a densely developed urban coastal corridor.

I also evaluated historical hurricane and tropical cyclone events and return frequency intervals that produced significant flooding in the Tampa Bay region without making direct landfall in the bay, and reviewed flood-frequency/return intervals using long-term NOAA and USGS records.

My analysis focused on storm surge and coastal inundation using FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps, the site’s location within a special flood area known as a Coastal High Hazard Area, and the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA) to characterize wave-driven risk.

It was an honor to be retained as a forensic meteorologist and coastal flood-risk consultant to provide an independent, data-driven assessment of hazard for this vulnerable coastal site.

Tampa City Council recently considered a land use change for a proposed mixed-use redevelopment project in Hyde Park, a historic district in South Tampa along Bayshore Boulevard.

Media article:
tbbwmag.com/2026/02/13/m...

a man in a police uniform says sorry folks park 's closed the moose out front should ve told ya ALT: a man in a police uniform says sorry folks park 's closed the moose out front should ve told ya

Awesome. 📡❄️ 🫎

The correlation coefficient (CC) dual polarization radar product confirms the radar echoes are not meteorological with the lower CC values … much like radar sampling smoke from wildfires (see the radar data from NWS Miami over the Everglades) and other non-meteorological targets.

Under mostly clear skies with temperature of 80F and a west wind gusting to 35 mph at 5 PM CT / 6 PM ET, the wind farms are active!

Science and technology are fascinating in the world of weather! #FLwx #TXwx

The Lubbock area is a major hub for both historical and modern wind energy, featuring museums and several large-scale wind farms across Hale, Floyd, and Crosby counties. 

Note on the reflectivity panel the stationary, yet flickering returns located northeast and southeast of the Lubbock radar. 📡💨

Tonight, an ever popular radar feature stands out: windmills and wind energy farms! 📡 🔌 💡

Checkout the radar imagery this evening for a view of these wind farms.

During my time working with the team NWS Lubbock, reviewing radar data was a daily practice. In 2007, I traded the West Texas dry line and tornadoes for the Florida sea breezes and hurricanes - and here I am checking out the Lubbock radar for unique features. 👀

As a meteorologist, I enjoy analyzing and interpreting radar data across the country and often focus on my local area here in Tampa, Florida.

However, I can be found scanning wherever active weather or interesting radar features may be occurring. Tonight, it is Lubbock, Texas!
📡🤠

What a memory. I was one of the senior meteorologists at the NWS office in Corpus Christi, Texas at the time and remember the squall line barreling east toward Florida. Ironically later that year in October we had the historic rains and south Texas flood event on the Guadalupe River.

This air is behind yesterday’s cold front which is connected to a powerful low pressure system off the coast of New England this morning.

This powerful cyclone produced significant snow, wind and beach erosion for many areas over the past 18-24 hours.

Amazing images from space! Cold air is filtering south over Florida and will force temperature to plummet to near freezing by Tuesday morning in the Tampa area.

NWS Service Assessment:
www.weather.gov/media/public...

NWS Melbourne Report:
www.weather.gov/media/mlb/su...

Satellite analysis from the University of Wisconsin: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies:
cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/misc/98...

I also wanted to share key resources from the National Weather Service, including the official Service and Damage Assessment of the event, and satellite analysis from the University of Wisconsin, for those interested in reviewing the meteorological setup and the human impact of this tragic outbreak.

3/3 The sequence of radar images below shows the evolving storm line between 10:55 PM and 2:00 AM, highlighting several rotational signatures detected by the NWS Melbourne and Tampa radars. These images capture how quickly these deadly storms developed and intensified under nighttime conditions.

2/3 The sequence of radar images below shows the evolving storm line between 10:55 PM and 2:00 AM, highlighting several rotational signatures detected by the NWS Melbourne and Tampa radars. These images capture how quickly these deadly storms developed and intensified under nighttime conditions.