Afternoon thunderstorms roll through Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – A line of storms on the sea breeze erupted Wednesday afternoon, packing excessive lightning, large hail and winds of 60 mph.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for northern Lake County by the National Weather Service until 4:45 p.m.

Slow-moving storms capable bringing wind gusts up to 55 mph, torrential downpours and frequent lightning were expected until 6 p.m. across Lake, and western Orange counties.

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A large ridge of high pressure remains our dominant weather feature this week, with a consistent southeasterly flow.

Plenty of available moisture, along with daytime heating, will allow sea breeze storms to develop along the coast and slowly push inland through the afternoon, according to News 6 meteorologist Candace Campos.

The lowest chance for rain Wednesday will be along the coast, at 30%, and highest across the interior areas at 30% to 40%.

"The main threat with these storms today will be dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes and heavy downpours," Campos said. "A few storms may produce wind gusts up to 40 mph."

Due to early passage of the sea breeze, temperatures along the coast will climb to around 90 degrees Wednesday afternoon.

Across the interior, expect temps to reach the mid-90s before showers and storms roll through. 

Pinpointing the tropics

The low-level tropical wave that is currently over Hispaniola will reach the Florida coastline early Friday morning and linger through Saturday.

"Enhanced moisture with this wave will increase our rain chances to 60% to 70% both days," Campos said. 

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At this time, Brevard County will have the highest chance for locally heavy tropical rainfall. Along with added rain, widespread cloud cover will keep temperatures in the upper 80s, according to Campos.

As of Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center was giving this area only a 10% chance of development within the next five days. 

The one to watch right now is a tropical wave currently in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As of Wednesday afternoon, that area has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression.