INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Local residents will feel blustery wind gusts – up to 40 mph – long before statewide storms were expected to trek through the county late Tuesday, meteorologists said. By the time the widespread, quick-moving storms move across the area, the damaging gusts will reach 50-to-60 mph, possibly accompanied by hail and a chance of tornadoes, said Zach Law, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
“We do have a risk of strong wind gusts throughout the day ahead of the storm,” Law said. “It will be windy before the storm.”
The storms will reach Vero Beach sometime between 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to meteorologists.
Tuesday’s weather event will be the first major storm in 2024 for Vero Beach, Law said. The morning will have a high temperature near 80 degrees, which will drop near 58 degrees in the evening.
The night will also have an 80 percent chance of showers, meteorologists said.
A wind advisory – which is issued for winds not connected to thunderstorms – will take effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for Indian River County, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. The strong line of storms will push south into Vero Beach in the evening.
Law cautioned mariners, saying there will be choppy boating conditions with the high winds.
A gale warning for offshore boaters will be in effect starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will last throughout the day. Gale-force winds will cause the water to build to 9-to-14 feet, meteorologists said.
Weather experts do not expect flooding or a large amount of erosion from the storms, Law said.
“The storms will last from one-to-two hours at any location,” Law said. “Residents should be up to date on the forecast, keep in tune with local media and have multiple ways to receive warnings.”
