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Let the cooldown begin. Below average temps, winds, and rip currents for Central Florida

Here’s what to expect tonight and ahead

Orlando, FL – Not only was the cold front coming through just as planned, which means Mother Nature played along with our forecast but I saw some rain on the way in to News 6 today.

Albeit, some sprinkles, maybe light rain some could say. But nevertheless, a pleasant sight given how dry and warm we’ve been for a while!

We'll watch temperatures sort of tumble, while not as dramatic as previous cold bouts, still down below our average for the time (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

There’s more on the way as well. Stick with me here and I’ll carefully break down some of the mechanics behind what to expect on Wednesday and Thursday.

But for tonight, now that our cold front has dropped south leaving us on the backside, winds will kick up a bit. They’ll be a little sportier or more noticeable closer to the coasts as well, where our moderate rip current risk is projected to increase to a HIGH risk thanks to the cranking post-frontal winds expected to turn up.

As the front moves further south we'll begin to feel the winds pick up behind it (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

While you may catch glimpses of the sunset this evening, the orientation of the subtropical jet stream coming in from the west of our state will keep a chain of mid to high cloud in place despite the front pushing in some dry air.

So tomorrow will be a mix of sun and clouds. We’re expecting mostly cloudy skies with occasional bouts of sunlight peeking through as best as it can all thanks to the persistent westerly winds high up in our atmosphere shoveling in that layer of clouds.

You’ll also want to ensure you have an extra layer on this evening if you plan to take advantage of the final hours of Sunday. Temperatures are already coming down, and as winds pick up in spots you’ll definitely feel the evolution taking place as cooler air funnels in further.

As we start the day fairly cold, we'll be taking layers off by midday (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

We’re expecting a lot of us to tumble into the mid to upper 40s by the time the sun starts to rise on your Monday. Make sure the kids headed off to school are layered appropriately, especially if they’ll be walking or biking to school in the morning.

As for you, if you’ve got the built in luxury maybe get those car heaters started up before you set foot out the door. Or, if you’re like me, either have the jacket on and then tear it off once you’re seated or book it from your doorstep if you’re not a fan of the chilly conditions!

Speaking of being a fan – rest assured even though we’ll still be breezy during Monday afternoon, temperatures will actually climb to a pretty tolerable level. I’m going with mid to upper 60s for our high temps during the warmest period of the afternoon.

Computer models are locking on to a potential system moving in from our west and bringing up rain chances pretty well for Wednesday and the first half of Thursday (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Then we drop down after sunset and do it all over again.

Towards Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, I am tracking the progression of another fairly powerful impulse of upper level energy stuck in the jet stream that will come swooping in from the west swinging with it additional clouds, moisture, and extra rains.

A close up of what our Thursday morning wake up could look like on radar (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Right now, being we’re still a few days away from the main event, computer models are still sort of sketchy with rainfall totals. But it does appear we’re in the running to take on an extra inch or so in parts of Central Florida before all is said and done.

Then we’re back under average if not slightly below average temperatures for a little longer.


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