AccuWeather.com reports dry weather will continue to aid search efforts for the missing football players in the Gulf of Mexico this week. Wave heights in the search area are expected to remain between 2 and 4 feet over the next several days. After another cold night tonight with temperatures dropping through the 40s, a warming trend will kick in through the end of the week.
Weather conditions over the weekend may have been a contributing factor in the disappearance of a fishing boat carrying two NFL players and two former NCAA football players. As of Monday afternoon, the boat was located overturned with one survivor.
The Everglades 21-foot center console fishing boat was reported missing early Sunday following a small craft advisory issued Saturday evening by the National Weather Service.
Buoy reports off the west coast of Florida showed winds Saturday were in the 15- to 25-knot range, and waves on that portion of the Gulf of Mexico were 2 to 4 feet. Water temperatures have been in the lower 60s in Tampa, Fla. since the weekend. Radar imagery from Saturday afternoon shows most of the thunderstorm activity that day well to the north of the area where the men were fishing.
Late Saturday night and Sunday, wind and waves dramatically increased as shown on the wave graph below. Wave heights were running close to 14 feet ahead of a cold front associated with the major snowstorm that hit the South and Eastern Seaboard.
To learn more or discuss with a forecaster, please contact:
Justin Roberti
Roberti@AccuWeather.com
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