ORLANDO, Fla. – Gusty onshore winds and dry air are creating fire sensitive conditions across Central Florida on Tuesday evening.
While humidity is a bit higher near the coast, the persistent wind is making it difficult to control any fires that start.
Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through 8 p.m., after which conditions will gradually improve as winds begin to relax. Even so, caution is still advised, especially inland where humidity remains lower.
Overnight lows will fall to around 61 degrees, with slightly warmer readings along the coast due to the steady onshore flow. That breeze will continue into Wednesday, helping keep temperatures a bit below normal.
Highs on Wednesday will top out near 80 degrees, which is cooler than the average for this time of year. Typically, we should be closer to 85 degrees in late April, so this stretch will feel relatively mild for Central Florida.
By Wednesday afternoon, winds will still be breezy with gusts between 20 and 25 mph, but not as strong as what we saw earlier today. By Thursday and especially Friday, winds continue to ease as high pressure settles closer to Florida. This will bring improving conditions not only on land but also along the coast.
Boating conditions will steadily improve through late week. Seas drop below 7 feet on Tuesday night and continue falling to around 3 - 4 feet by Thursday, then down to 2 - 3 feet by Friday and into the weekend. By Saturday and Sunday, conditions look favorable for boating with lighter winds and lower seas.
Rain chances remain limited through midweek, although a few isolated showers could move onshore along the coast Wednesday. As we head into the weekend, moisture slowly increases and that will allow for a few isolated afternoon storms, especially by Sunday when rain chances are slightly higher at 30%.
The bigger story heading into the weekend will be the warming trend. Coastal areas will stay a bit cooler thanks to the sea breeze, with highs in the low to mid 80s. Inland spots will climb into the upper 80s and could approach 90 degrees by the end of the weekend and early next week.
Overall, the pattern remains dry for now with no major fronts in sight, but a gradual return of moisture means we will start to see those typical isolated afternoon storms creep back into the forecast as we move into late weekend.