The Treasure Coast is about to get a much-needed soaking. Starting later this week, a surge of tropical moisture moving up from the Caribbean will bring significantly higher coverage of afternoon showers and thunderstorms to the region — and forecasters say that's very good news.
Will Ulrich, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne, says the pattern is expected to ramp up Thursday into Friday and persist well into next week.
"Beginning later this week, particularly on Thursday into Friday, we have a surge of tropical moisture that will be moving up from the Caribbean across the Florida Peninsula," Ulrich said.
"It's going to lead to a higher coverage of those afternoon showers and thunderstorms that we're used to seeing this time of year."
Ulrich was quick to note that not every location will see rain every day, but residents should expect the storms to be more frequent and more intense than recent weeks.
Those storms could bring gusty winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour and dangerous lightning strikes, and may produce brief street flooding in some areas.
Still, Ulrich emphasized the overall picture is a positive one, given how dry the region has been.
"Though we may have some locally heavy rain that will lead to some street flooding from time to time, overall this will be more of a beneficial event considering we are and have been so dry as of late," he said.
The timing lines up almost exactly with what meteorologists expect for South Florida's annual wet season — the roughly four-to-five month stretch when the region receives the bulk of its yearly rainfall.
"We call it the wet season because we get two-thirds of our annual rainfall in a four-to-five month period," Ulrich explained.
"So from now through September, this is when we rely on these showers and thunderstorms to give us that rainfall — and it looks like it's starting right on time."
Ulrich also addressed online speculation about early-season tropical development, saying there are no concerns on that front heading into the weekend.
"This appears as though it will be more of a just overall moisture surge that will be coming up from the Caribbean that will just lead to higher coverage of showers and thunderstorms every day," he said.
"Overall, good news — no concerns from a severe weather or tropical perspective."
With hurricane season officially beginning June 1, the National Weather Service expects to be closely monitoring conditions along Florida's east coast in the months ahead.