ORLANDO, Fla. – Rain chances remain elevated for one more day with the onset of more tropical moisture for Saturday. Drier days are ahead as a more stable atmosphere builds in by next week.
Saturday
With tropical moisture from a wave sticking around over Central Florida, we will have one more afternoon of higher than normal rain chances. Thanks to our onshore flow and instability from this wave, spotty showers are expected on and around the coastline to start off our Saturday. Our sea breeze will use this moisture to its advantage to generate showers and thunderstorms. Rain will begin to push into areas around and just east of I-4 around 11am. Scattered storms will continue to push west of I-4 into the early afternoon. The west coast sea breeze will push inland at the same time and collide with the east coast breeze around and just east of I-75, helping to develop stronger thunderstorms mid-afternoon. As we slip into late afternoon and early evening, the east coast sea breeze will begin to retreat eastward, bringing a line of showers and storms back towards the I-4 corridor around 6pm.
Sunday
Drier air returns starting on Sunday, allowing our rain chances to begin to lower. Sunday will feature a “typical” sea breeze rain pattern with storms developing around 11am-12pm just east of I-4 and pushing westward throughout the afternoon. Coverage will be around 40% in the afternoon. Highs will hit the low-mid 90s. Any last day of summer outdoor BBQs or beach plans will be fine, just plan for a brief rain break before sunshine returns.
Next Week
Dry air will continue to funnel in from the east as a ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere builds over the state. This will allow for a drier and more stable atmosphere for Central Florida. These ingredients are the recipe needed to lower rain chances down to 20-30% for much of the week ahead with highs returning to the mid-upper 90s for the first week of school.