ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida will see rain chances increase on Thursday as a cold front moves across the area in the afternoon and evening, bringing scattered showers, a few storms, and gusty winds.
THURSDAY
Showers and storms are expected to begin developing north and west of the I-4 corridor after about 2 PM, including areas like Marion and northern Lake counties. From there, rain will gradually spread south through the afternoon and evening hours with coverage between 50-70%.
A few storms could briefly become strong. The main impacts will be gusty winds, lightning, and pockets of heavy rain, although storms will be moving fairly quickly, which may limit widespread rainfall totals.
Winds will also be breezy ahead of the front, with southwest winds around 15 to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph through the afternoon, with highs in the upper 80s.
FRIDAY
The front will move south of Central Florida overnight, but a little leftover moisture may keep a few showers around, mainly south of Orlando, during the day Friday.
Rain coverage should be lower, with 20–40% chances, and many areas will stay dry for much of the day.
Temperatures will be more comfortable behind the front, with afternoon highs settling into the upper 70s and lower 80s.
WEEKEND
Rain chances will increase again heading into the weekend as deeper moisture moves back into Florida.
Scattered showers and storms will be possible Saturday, especially across southern portions of Central Florida, with rain chances around 30–60%.
Coverage is expected to increase even more on Sunday, when rain chances climb to around 70% area-wide. A few storms could produce gusty winds, small hail, and heavy downpours.
By the end of the weekend, some locations could pick up around 1 to 1.5 inches of rain, with isolated areas possibly seeing close to 2 inches.
SPRING BREAK
Another cold front is expected to move through Florida Monday into Monday night, keeping rain chances elevated to start the week.
Behind that system, a much cooler pattern is expected to develop across Central Florida.
High temperatures may struggle to get out of the 60s by Tuesday, with noticeably cooler mornings dropping into the 50s and even the upper 40s north of I-4.