Brian LaMarre

From above, weather satellite imagery paints a quieter scene: scattered clouds drifting over Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf and clear skies above the Strait of Hormuz where ships wait for a window of safe transit. #Iran #HormuzStrait

Far away from Florida, on the other side of the world, the marine traffic view shows tankers are effectively “stacked up” on either side of the strait, a stark visual reminder of how regional instability can ripple across global energy and trade flows in real time.

On the other side of the world, tense times in one of the world’s most critical commerce chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz, normally a steady stream of oil and commerce tankers, is showing clusters of vessels forced to idle as conflict disrupts safe passage through the narrow shipping lanes.

Zooming out, today’s satellite view shows a tranquil sky over west-central Florida, with streaks of stratocumulus and altocumulus drifting across the Gulf with subtle textures that mirror the layered flow of marine traffic threading Tampa Bay below.

Beneath the iconic cable-stayed span, the Evergreen State oil/chemical tanker and the Orange Sky fruit juice tanker slip through the wide shipping channel, carrying energy and commerce between Port Tampa Bay, SeaPort Manatee, and global markets.

Beneath the iconic cable-stayed span, the Evergreen State oil/chemical tanker and the Orange Sky fruit juice tanker slip through the wide shipping channel, carrying energy and commerce between Port Tampa Bay, SeaPort Manatee, and global markets.

First March Monday morning over Tampa Bay, and the Florida Sunshine Skyway is doing what it does best: quietly connecting people, ports, and coasts as traffic streams across one of the nation’s busiest marine gateways.

Did you ever wonder what the view would be like the moment a National Weather Service balloon burst over 20 miles above Tampa at 107,000 feet high in the atmosphere? Think back to June 17, 2013 when the St. Petersburg, Florida #astronomy club captured the view!

Video:
youtu.be/csGrTZrFK2w?...

March 1. 2026: the start of Meteorological Spring - based on the annual temperature cycle, grouping the three months with the most similar temperatures (March, April, May) - allowing for more consistent data collection and analysis, as opposed to the shifting dates of the astronomical equinox.

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.