Cold air hits Central Florida; heavy rain coming this weekend

Orlando area starts Thursday in 30s, 40s

ORLANDO, Fla. – Cold air moved into Central Florida early Thursday, with some areas dipping into the 30s.

Orlando will reach a high in the mid-60s. The average high on this date is 72. The average low is 52. The record high is 88, set in 1922. The record low is 30, set in 1981.

Overnight lows early Friday will be in the 40s and 50s.

Saturday marks the first day of winter. Highs in Central Florida will be in the low 70s, with a 40% chance of rain.

Rain chances jump to 90% Sunday.

A low will move from the eastern half of Texas into the northern Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, a surface low will develop over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This surface low will be pulled to the north by the strength of the first low coming down from Texas.

As the surface low in the Gulf rides north, it will push warmer and moist air into Central Florida. That looks to be the makings for a very heavy rain event.

At this time, all of this looks to be pretty typical of a December low in the Gulf.

Some social media posts have been asking about the possibility of this turning into a tropical system in the Gulf.

Right now, that does not appear to be likely. The sea surface temperatures are just below the 80-degree level needed to produce a tropical system, and the National Hurricane Center is not impressed with the chances.

Even though it is not going to be tropical, this system will produce gale force winds over the northeast Gulf and looks to a big rainmaker for the weekend in Central Florida.

As the models get a better handle on the weekend, we will keep you posted here at ClickOrlando.com.

Watch News 6 for more weather coverage.


About the Authors:

Tom Sorrells is News 6's Emmy award winning chief meteorologist. He pinpoints storms across Central Florida to keep residents safe from dangerous weather conditions.

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