We are leaving for Florida on Saturday from the UK. 10 day weather forecast seems terrible - thunderstorms everyday? Is it really that bad and will be able to get any sun?

Is the bad weather state wide? Our first week's itinerary is booked - Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the kets, second week still open, so is there any recs where we could go.

thanks

Usually in the summer, there are frequent pop-up thunderstorms, but they are usually brief and rarely last the whole day. Florida is very sunny and it will be HOT and HUMID.
I think you will still have a good time. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the thunderstorms.

I understand about usual thunderstorms but didn't know if situation was worse than usual - I understand there is a state of emergency in Sarasota because of flooding?

Several counties, including Sarasota, have had flooding due to a stalled weather system that produced daily rains for about a week. The flooding has nothing to do with afternoon thunderstorms. However, it has been nice for a few days in a row and hopefully, you will have a great time. By the second week Sarasota should be just fine. It is beautiful there!

I live in Fort Lauderdale, but I spent the past 6 days in Key West. There have been storms in Ft. Lauderdale, but as the previous post mentioned, they pop up and then leave. Key West was hot, hot, hot and humid, humid, humid! Bring shorts and short sleeve or sleeveless shirts. Do yourself a favor and carry a container of water for each person. Most restaurants will fill up the bottles for you, especially if you are eating there. You don't want to get dehydrated, and it is very easy to do if you don't sip water off and on. Many stores have water, juice, sodas, etc., for sale in case you don't want to carry water.

Our last day in Key West, we were sitting at a bar on a pier at Ocean Key Resort, enjoying a nice drink and dinner. Near the end, the storm we saw in the distance finally arrived on shore. Everyone huddled under their table umbrellas and finished eating. Wouldn't you know it, the sun came out during the rain and there was a beautiful sunset! And the battery on my camera died just before the rain started... grrrrrrrr.

The point of my story is that the weather changes in Florida very quickly. And if it is cloudy and doesn't rain, you will welcome not having the sun beating down on you. Also, don't forget to wear your sunscreen in Florida. Even if you aren't on the beach, you need it if you are out in the sun. Use SPF 30 if you have pale skin. If you want more protection, just wait about 15 minutes and re-apply the SPF 30 and this will give you a higher SPF. My niece's dermatologist told her this trick. He said the higher SPF's like 45 can irritate the skin because of the additional chemicals.

I was just listening to the weather report for South Florida, and there are storms heading through the Keys tonight. It seems the storms hit around the same time for a few days (like late afternoon and night, or mornings, etc.) Just plan your days around the bad weather, if there IS any.

As a tip: If you want to lounge/swim on nice beaches, do it in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. The beaches in the Keys are nothing like the others. They had seaweed and the sand was much harder & more coarse. If you want good breakfast or lunch for a reasonable price, check out Harpoon Harry's (across the street from the Waterfront Market). We chose to eat breakfast there, rather than at the Bed & Breakfast. The best Mahi Mahi sandwich I had was at Billy Fish Bar & Grill at Ocean Key Resort located at Zero Duval Street (near Mallory Square). This is where you can see a beautiful sunset, too.

Enjoy your visit. If I can be of any further help, please email me at [email protected]

If you like to go in the water, you might enjoy snorkeling in the Keys. We went out on the Floridays sailboat (at the Hyatt). It only holds about 20 people, so it is a nice atmosphere and you can talk to the staff, who happen to be extremely nice, knowledgable and responsible.