ORLANDO, Fla. – As a strong cold front moves across the central U.S., a breezier and warmer weather setup starts Tuesday with gusts up to 15-20 mph.
Along this breeze, a few (10-20%) light showers could clip the coastline. These showers are going to be fairly shallow with minimal rainfall, but you could see a brief burst of rain. As for temperatures, expect highs in the mid 70s for most, while spots in the far interior may get close to 80 degrees.
Wednesday’s cold front is expected to make its way across western Florida early in the morning and continue toward Central Florida by the early afternoon. Before it gets here, southwest winds will pick up to around 20 mph, making it feel muggier in the morning.
The models show a line of showers and storms reaching the northern part around 12 p.m. The coverage remains high at 70-90%.
By 2-4pm activity will shift over the I-4 corridor.
Expect most of the rain and storms to clearing southern counties by sundown.
Some activity could turn strong to severe. For this reason the Storm Prediction Center has highlighted most of the area under a marginal (level 1/5) risk, and a SLIGHT risk (level 2) for northern Flagler and Marion counties.
The biggest concern will be strong winds (up to 60 mph) and frequent lightning. There’s also a small chance of hail, up to about an inch in diameter (though some of it might melt in the warm air). Rain totals will generally stay under a quarter inch.
Due to this threat, the News 6 Pinpoint Weather Team has designated Wednesday as a Weather Alert Day.
Ahead of the front, highs are forecast to hit the mid 80s in the south, while areas further north that get rain earlier will stay in the low 80s. Behind the front, things cool down Wednesday night into Thursday morning with lows dipping into the low to mid 50s. Some spots, like northern Lake and Volusia counties, could even see temperatures in the upper 40s!
Thursday to Saturday: A much drier air mass moves in as high pressure builds behind the cold front.
Thursday will feel cooler, with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. Friday morning looks to be the coldest morning of the week, with temperatures possibly dropping into the 40s in some areas. The afternoon will warm up quickly, reaching the mid to upper 70s.
Saturday will see a continued warming trend with morning lows in the 50s and highs in the low to mid 80s. Moisture will slowly begin to return, as high pressure shifts over the Atlantic and a new cold front approaches from the west. For most of Saturday, we’ll stay dry, but some models show a chance for isolated showers (about 20-30% coverage) north of I-4 due to higher moisture ahead of the front.
Sunday to Tuesday: The cold front is expected to move southward across the area on Sunday, but there’s some uncertainty about the timing.
Right now, we’re looking at a 40-50% chance of rain area-wide on Sunday, with a slight chance of a storm, especially in the afternoon. Some models suggest lingering moisture behind the front on Sunday night and into Monday, so we’re keeping a 20% chance of showers through that period.
After that, dry conditions should return by Tuesday, with highs generally in the 70s. Depending on when the front moves through, southern areas could hit the low 80s on Sunday.