Friday forecast: Small hail, torrential rains, lightning and tornadoes possible with cold front

A sloppy cool front sweeping through South Florida today and early Saturday may come with scattered severe storms, including a possible tornado. 

National Weather Service meteorologists in Miami said the timing of the approaching front has been difficult to predict, and that there is uncertainty about where the worst of the storms could strike.

Unlike Sunday's front, which raked through the state in a classic squall line, storms produced today and Saturday will be driven more by daytime heating and sea breezes. 

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Four tornadoes hit southwest Florida on Sunday, including an EF2 with 118 mph winds in Fort Myers and an EF1 with 100 mph winds in Port Charlotte. 

"We are not seeing as many red flags compared to last weekend," said meteorologist Sammy Hadi. "It will be somewhat like a summer pattern with clusters of storms rather than a nice organized line." 

The Storm Prediction Center has all of South Florida at a marginal risk for severe weather today – the lowest level on the center's five-tier scale. 

Hadi said widespread rain is not expected but stalled showers with the heaviest storms could cause localized flooding in low-lying urban areas. 

Concerns for dangerous rip currents pick up today with moderate to high risks Saturday and Sunday. 

High temperatures behind the front will hover near 70 on Sunday and Monday with a low temperature of 50 degrees Monday morning before a warmup at least through Wednesday. 

"There is a lot of uncertainty with coverage and timing on this front," Hadi said. "It's not a slam dunk."

The southwest part of the state is still dealing with the cleanup of the last cold front that blew through and brought with it a tornado in Fort Myers that destroyed and damaged homes last week.

Lee County estimates the tornado caused $7.1 million in damage to residential property and $1.2 million to commercial sites.

The EF2 twister that hit the Fort Myers area Sunday was the first since Jan 9, 2016.

Kmiller@pbpost.com

@Kmillerweather