ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida is in for a sweltering and stormy day.
If you’re heading outside, prepare for dangerous heat and a few strong storms through the afternoon.
Friday & Saturday
By lunch, much of east Central Florida will be in the 90s, with heat index values reaching up to 110.
A Heat Advisory is in effect from 12-7 p.m. for all counties, as this level of heat can be dangerous.
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Later in the day, attention turns to scattered sea breeze-driven storms.
As sea breezes develop around 1 p.m., activity will begin to pop up along the coast. These storms will become more widespread through the afternoon and evening, with the most active weather expected around 6 p.m. when the sea breezes from the Atlantic and Gulf collide over inland neighborhoods.
Some storms will have the chance to become strong to severe, producing frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, very heavy rainfall and gusty winds of 40 to 60 mph.
Sunday-Monday
Looking ahead into early next week, temperatures could ease slightly (enough to stay out of heat advisory levels).
Highs will still reach the low to mid-90s each afternoon, and the humidity will push heat index values to 100-107 degrees.
While widespread Heat Advisories may not be needed, it’s still going to be uncomfortably hot, and it’s possible that an advisory may be issued Saturday for parts of the region.
Widespread storm chances on Sunday and Monday will become even more favorable as a surge of tropical moisture from a stalled front fuels activity.
These storms could once again bring strong winds, lightning and torrential rainfall. While average rainfall totals may hover around an inch, some spots could see more with repeated downpours.
There’s also a small chance a weak tropical disturbance could try to develop near the stalled front, but current forecasts suggest anything that forms would likely drift east into the open Atlantic and not pose a local threat.