ORLANDO, Fla. – Rain chances take a rare dip Wednesday in the Orlando area, but a system brewing in the tropics will bring more wet weather to the region in the coming days, including the holiday weekend.
"We are pinpointing an area of low pressure that will try to get organized in the coming days," News 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said. "This is a separate system from all the moisture we’ve seen over the past few days. We’ve had a deep, southerly flow for the past couple of weeks that has translated into higher rain chances and south winds that brought in lots of tropical moisture."
The weather system is in the northern Caribbean and will move into the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning that it has a 60 percent chance of developing into at least a tropical depression later this week.
If the system eventually strengthens into a tropical storm, it would be the first of the 2018 season and would be named Alberto. The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1.
"Some models take it to Louisiana, while other models take it to the west coast of Florida," Bridges said. "Either way, it will be so broad that it will bring rain for all of the coastal zones, including all of Florida."
Residents are urged to monitor the weather "because there will be flash flooding associated with this." Officials said the rainmaker could dump up to 8 inches in some areas.
"The timeline for the initial rain will be early in the weekend and for the first part of next week," Bridges said.
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Orlando's yearly rain deficit stands at 2.23 inches. Daytona Beach has a yearly rain surplus of 7.04 inches, however.
We STILL have a deficit in Orlando of 2.23" because we only saw a TRACE of rain yesterday! pic.twitter.com/aqJDM3tNTK
— Troy Bridges (@TroyNews6) May 23, 2018
The high in Orlando will reach 89 on Wednesday, which is the average high on this date. Overnight lows will be in the low 70s.
Highs will be near 90 degrees Thursday and Friday before dropping to the low to mid-80s over the weekend.
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Tropical Update
Posted by News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando on Wednesday, May 23, 2018
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